The week and a half leading up to Christmas Eve were some of the craziest days at Burlington Coat Factory. None of the crazy things that had happened on Black Friday happened, but it was still intense. Sarah spent half of her time trying to help customers who all seemed to have insane requests, and the other half just trying to keep her department clean. Emily rambled on about how there were so many customers buying so many things, and how she wished she could have a stool to sit down at the register. Jenn had another slight mental breakdown on a day where she had to do at least a hundred price checks. Still they all managed to make it through the days, taking it one day at a time.
Then Christmas Eve came, and like a solider has bad flashbacks to the war, Sarah had flashbacks to Black Friday. Sarah wondered to herself if anyone had done any shopping ahead of time. The lines to the registers went from the youth department in the back of the store, all the way to the front. All the customers seemed to have forgotten the holiday spirit, and were grumpy, most of them complaining about the wait, and how they had somewhere else to be. Sarah wondered why they had simply gone shopping earlier, than this wouldn't have been a problem.
A customer approached Sarah, "Do you have these jeans in size 0?"
"No ma'am, they don't make those jeans in junior sizes." Sarah said, trying to be helpful.
"Yes they do. I've bought them before." Sarah was used to customers who thought they knew more than they did. Sarah decided to just play along.
"Oh, well then we must be out."
"CHECK THE BACK. You must have more. My daughter has to have these jeans for Christmas!"
"We don't have anything in the back ma'am." Sarah said truthful. They had already rolled out all the new stock for the day, they didn't keep anything in the back.
"Don't get that attitude with me! I know you are just being lazy GO CHECK THE BACK."
"Just one second ma'am." Sarah knew this wasn't a battle she was going to win. She went to the back room and stared at the box crusher for a few moments, then walked back out again. "Sorry we don't have any size 0" The customer cursed under her breath, but walked away. Sarah was glad she hadn't pushed the issue any further.
The rest of the day went by without much issue. The store closed early, and all three girls were happy when they were able to go to the break room to collect their things.
"We should get those automatic check out things like every other store has. Then I could just sit there and make sure no one was stealing anything." Emily moaned.
"But I'd still have to do..." Jenn twitched slightly, "PRICE CHECKS ARRRRRRGHHH"
The two other girls giggled slightly. "Well at least we don't have to work tomorrow!" Sarah said, excited to have another day off, nothing having to deal with the crazy customers.
"Yeah, but after that..." Jenn twitched again. "THE RETURNS ARGGHHHHHHHH" Jenn calmed herself down. "Well I'll see you girls tonight. I can't wait for you guys to met Marisol and my dad."
"Yeah, should be fun." Sarah said, feeling a bit nervous about meeting new people. After the day she had, she didn't know if she could deal with more people.
After spending the last few Christmas Eve's with just Sarah, Tina was a bit excite to being going to someone else's house this year. When Sarah and Emily arrived home from their job, Tina wanted to go almost immediately. She thought maybe some of Emily's random energy was rubbing off on her. Still she waited patiently while the girls got changed into more comfortable clothes.
While they changed Sarah felt a sudden panic attack coming on. While she wanted to be there for Jenn, and met her father, she was suddenly nervous about meeting new people. "I feel sick I don't think I can go." Sarah whined.
"LIES!" Emily shouted, putting on a pair of socks that didn't match.
"I have a headache!" Sarah persisted.
"No you don't!" Emily giggled as she went over and modeled in front of the mirror. After deciding she looked okay, she continued in a sing songy voice. "You are just being shy again Sarah."
Her cover blown, Sarah just sat on her bed and sighed. "I'm not good with meeting new people."
"You did fine with me and Jenn, and this is only Jenn's family. You'll be fine." Emily said, sitting next to Sarah. "Oh! Forrest is kicking again! Feel!" Emily took Sarah's hand and placed it on her belly. Sarah felt the little kicks from Forrest, like she did most days. It never failed to amaze her, though, and today it helped calm her down.
"Alright, I'm ready to go!" Sarah said, smiling bravely.
They picked up the gifts meant for Jenn and her family from under their Christmas tree. Sarah admired the tree for a moment. It had mostly ordinary ornaments, but Emily had decided to put some of the refrigerator magnets on the tree as well. Somehow it worked out, and it looked very nice. Sarah looked down at the gifts she had bought, and almost had another panic attack, thinking she had bought the worst gifts possible. She was determined not to be upset, and to go with what she had. It's the thought that counts, Sarah reminded herself.
They all packed into Tina's car. A few more inches of snow had fallen, making it look and feel like Christmas. Tina put the address into her GPS, and they made their way to Jenn's father's house.
Despite her nervousness, Sarah had a good time. She met Jenn's father Tim, a rugged looking man, but with a kind smile, Marisol, a petite woman who wore glasses that made her look like a teacher, and Dennis, Jenn's little brother who was fourteen and looked almost exactly like his sister but with short hair and a screw the world attitude.
They shared a ham dinner. Emily, Marisol, and Tina sat together, all discussing the finer points of pregnancy. This was Marisol's first baby, and she was a bit nervous about it. Dennis didn't talk at all, instead he spent the whole dinner on his phone. That left Sarah, Jenn, and Tim to talk amongst themselves.
"I really want to get my own apartment, but I want to go to school first." Jenn was telling her father, as he listened intently.
"Oh? Whatcha wanna go to school for?" Tim said gruffly.
"I want to be a make-up artist! You know like the people who put make-up on celebrities! That would be neat." Jenn seemed to be less awkward around her father now. Sarah saw that as a good sign.
"Oh yeah, Jenn's really good with make-up, you should've seen how well she painted my nails." Sarah said, trying to contribute to the conversation.
"Oh that was nothing. I can do even cooler things!" Jenn said with pride.
"So what do you do for a living Mr. MAKEUPALASTNAMEFORJENN?" Sarah asked Tim politely.
"Oh well I'm kinda a jack of all trades, as they say. Right now I'm doing snow plowing, but other times of the year I do landscaping. I also do some plumbing on the side. You can call me Tim though, I don't like being called Mister." Tim laughed roughly.
"Alright then...Tim" Sarah said timidly.
Dinner ended, and it was time for opening gifts. Dennis opened his gifts first. Sarah had almost forgotten to get him a gift, and had decided on getting him a gift-card for Amazon.com at the last minute. He seemed to appreciate the gift, but didn't even say thank you. He just slunk back to a corner and continued playing with his phone. Sarah wondered how the battery hadn't died yet.
Jenn opened her gifts next. She got a cute cell phone accessory in the shape of a puppy from Emily, a sweater from her father, a new fashionable purse from Tina, and a gift certificate to the mall from Marisol. Finally she opened Sarah's gift, and smiled.
"Oh yes thank you so much Sarah!" She looked over the gift with glee. Sarah had gotten her a kit for mixing your own nail polish colors. Jenn looked immensely pleased with the gift. Sarah was happy she had chosen such a good gift for her friend.
Emily got her gifts next. Jenn got her a cookbook that's title was "100 easy recipes for you and your baby". Tim got her a sweater that wouldn't fit her until after Forrest was born, and another gift-card to the mall.
Sarah's gifts were similar to the two other girls, but Jenn had gotten her a small stuffed cat. For some reason it made her feel very nostalgic, and she cuddled it for the rest of the night.
Marisol loved the candle Sarah got her, saying it was her favorite scent. Tim laughed at the tie. "I don't got much of a reason to wear a tie, but hey dear, maybe I can wear it to our wedding." He laughed, and Marisol ever so lightly bonked him on the head with a book Tina had gotten her on Early Child Care, all with a smile on her face.
The night concluded, and Tina, Sarah, and Emily all piled back in the car. Sarah had fun that night. She wasn't sure what she had been so nervous about, things had gone well. She was happy to finally meet some of Jenn's family. She felt like they were becoming closer friends all the time. Still, something about the stuffed cat Jenn had gotten her made her feel very strange, like it was from a memory of a far off time, something that Sarah could see, but it was just barely out of grasp. Sarah tried not to think about it.
They drove the long way home, looking at all the glimmering Christmas lights. Emily oohed and awed at them almost like they were fireworks. A couple of neighborhoods had put out milk jugs with candles in them, lighted the side of the street. It was all magical and beautiful, just as Christmas is supposed to be.
They all quickly fell asleep that night, Emily muttering something about Santa Claus as she drifted off, and Sarah holding the stuffed cat in her arms as she rested.
Words this part: 1814
Words Total: 47234
Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
Monday, November 14, 2011
Fleeting Glimpse part 23
For as long as Sarah Pinkerton could remember, she had never dreamed. She wondered why that might be, but she didn't waste much time thinking about it. After all dreams were just something that went on in your head while you were sleeping. Sarah didn't mind not ever having them. The only thing that concerned her was a sinking feeling she had ever since she had woken up from her coma. A feeling that she was forgetting something important.
That coma had been one of the strangest experiences of her life. Sarah remembered going to sleep that night, with Emily by her side, and waking up the next day in the hospital. Despite her feeling just fine, they insisted she stay in the hospital another night just to make sure. When she went home the next day, she starred in wonder at the white winter world before her. It was like the world had become something else while she was asleep.
Some time had passed, and now it was December. Sarah had returned to work, and everything seemed to be getting back to normal. Emily insisted on sleeping in Sarah's bed every night, just to make sure she was alright. Sarah didn't mind, she knew that Emily was worried about her, and Sarah was worried for Emily as well. She knew how much stress the small girl had been through lately. Sarah started driving Emily to work every day now, Emily's stomach was getting too big for her to be able to drive by herself.
Emily lamented on the couch one day after work. "Ugh Forrest, we need to get your things from Joey's apartment." She sighed down at her stomach. "I don't want to go there though..."
"Well if you had some goons, they could go get the stuff for you!" Sarah laughed.
"Hmmm...well actually..."
Jenn knocked on the door of Emily's former apartment. Sarah stood beside her nervously. She wasn't sure if this plan would work out, but she hoped it would.
Joey answered the door, looking angrily at the two girls. "We are here for Emily's things." Jenn said bravely.
"Ha! You and what army?" Joey laughed at them.
Jenn waved her arm behind her, and Joey opened the door wider to reveal nine athletic men behind her. Emily had called her friend from high school who was now on a college football team for a favor he owed her. He had agreed to take the team to go pick up Emily's things. Sarah didn't ask why he owed her a favor, and she knew better than to ask. Emily was just too random.
"I hope there won't be a problem." Said the lead football player gruffly. Joey stood to the side and let them in. He sneered as Sarah and Jenn went in, but didn't try anything. Soon the football players packed all of Emily's belongings into Jenn and Sarah's cars. They waved goodbye as the two girls thanked them profusely for their help.
Emily was excited to see all of her things again, especially the crib and baby things for Forrest. "YAY! Now we can set up the spare room into a nursery!" Emily exclaimed, as Sarah and Jenn started carrying everything up to the room. Emily directed the baby things into the spare room, but insisted they put her things into Sarah's room. Sarah didn't argue, she had gotten used to Emily sleeping with her.
After all the hard work, the girls ordered a pizza and watched a movie together. When Tina arrived home, Emily excitedly got up to greet her. "Mom mom! Guess what! Sarah and Jenn got all my stuff from Joey's house!"
"That's great dear!" Tina smiled down on the girl she now considered her adopted daughter. "Oh do I smell pizza?" Jenn offered her a slice, and she sat down amongst her daughter and friends. "Guess this means you can have your own bedroom now."
Emily gasped and clung to Sarah. "NEVER! It can be Forrest's room! I can't leave Sarah! What if something bad happens again?"
"I don't think anything will happen again." Sarah said, trying to reassure her friend.
"Yeah but they don't even know what happened in the first place!" Emily bounced about nervously.
"Don't worry dear, Sarah will be okay." Tina reassured.
Emily just pouted, but let go of Sarah. "Yeah but what ever happened to Jeff?"
"Who?" Sarah asked.
"Oh yeah you don't remember him..." Emily trailed off. She had tried to bring Jeff up in the hospital, but to no avail. The doctors had said that Sarah might have some memory loss, but Emily was still worried. When would Sarah remember everything again?
"Don't force it Emily." Tina said. "She'll remember when she remembers."
It was Sarah's turn to pout. She remembered them bringing Jeff up before now. She still couldn't remember ever knowing some one by that name. She didn't think they could be very important memories if she couldn't remember them anymore. The few days before she fell into the short coma all seemed fuzzy in her memory as well. Sarah tried not to dwell too much on the past though. So much was going on in the present.
That night, Emily snuggled up to Sarah as they prepared to go to sleep. "Hey Sarah?"
"What is it Em?"
"I kinda lied. I do like sleeping in your bed cause I'm worried about you, but also cause I'm lonely. I just can't sleep by myself. I still miss Joey sometimes."
"I know it's hard on you Em. We'll get through this together." Sarah squeezed Emily's shoulders. Sarah was happy to have Emily as a friend. Emily always seemed so strong, but when she was alone with Sarah she showed her weaker side off. Sarah was glad she could trust her with her weakness, it meant that she didn't have to keep it all bottled up inside herself.
For some reason, Sarah was reminded of the Dreamsight sitting on her desk. She couldn't remember why she had bought it anymore. Seemed silly, she never had any dreams to begin with. She remembered wearing it a lot before her coma, but now she didn't sleep with it on anymore. There didn't seem to be a point to it.
"Night Sarah..." Emily said, as she drifted off into sleep. Sarah soon followed her.
The next week at work was crazy. It wasn't as busy as that fateful Black Friday had been, but it was still busy. Every morning when they went into work, instead of just putting out the new clothes, they went down into receiving. Sarah had been scared at first to go into the dark basement, but she got over that fear pretty quickly. They spent about an hour helping the people who worked downstairs unbox items, put price tags on them, and put them on long clothing rods so they could be brought up stairs. Sometimes one of the clothing rods would be so overstuffed with new clothes it almost fell over. Sarah kinda liked working downstairs out of the sight of customers. It reminded her a lot of her days working in the factory. Those days seemed like a lifetime away sometimes though. She was glad for this job in many ways. If it wasn't for this job she never would've gotten over her shyness, and she never would've made such good friends in Emily and Jenn.
Emily started being a cashier full time, and was taken out of Sportsware. Sarah missed her sometimes, but she got to see her so much at home it didn't bother her that much. Sometimes Sarah had to ring on a register as well when the lines got too long. Sarah was glad that work was so busy lately, she was getting lots of overtime. She needed this extra money so she could buy her mother an extra special Christmas gift. She also wanted to buy Emily something special for Forrest, and Jenn something too. Sarah never had to buy so many Christmas gifts before. She was excited though, she wanted to make her friends and mother happy.
One day, the three girls met in Starbucks like usual. Jenn had some news to share. "They decided on a wedding date!"Jenn had almost started to get excited for her father. Jenn remembered the first time she met Marisol, her father's new girlfriend. She hadn't liked her at the time but after spending more time with her, she had really gotten to like her. She was happy that Marisol was making her estranged father so happy. Sometimes Jenn got the idea that it was Marisol who had coaxed her father into contacting his old family again. That made Jenn like her even more.
"Oh when?" Emily exclaimed.
"January fifteenth."
"Oh pooh. I was hoping Forrest would be able to go." Emily patted her stomach gently.
Jenn giggled. "Well they want to have it soon, before Marisol starts really showing. It's only going to be a small thing. But the exciting part is, Marisol wants us to be her bridesmaids!"
"Us?" Sarah asked, "But she's never even met me or Emily."
"YAY!" Emily declared without a care in the world.
"She wants to meet my friends, I think she's doing this to try to help us all come together as a family." Jenn smiled. "I know it's kinda sudden, but she wants to spend Christmas Eve with you guys too."
"Can Ma come too?" Sarah asked.
"Of course!"
"YAY!" Emily squealed again. The three girls all laughed together for some time.
The next day Sarah had off from work. She drove Emily in, and promised to come pick her up when she got out at four. Sarah then drove to the mall to get some Christmas shopping done. It was already the tenth of December, time seemed to be flying by with how busy she had been at work. Sarah avoided the Macy's where her mother worked, and instead went to the JC Penny's.
She wandered around the store, on the hunt for perfect gifts. She had added Marisol, and Jenn's father Tim, to the mental list of people she had to buy gifts for. She was at a lost as to what to buy them. She found a pretty candle for Marisol finally, and got Tim a tie. She thought they were pretty safe gifts, considering she had never met them before. Then she had the task of buying the gifts for her mother and two best friends. After over an hour of searching, she decided she had found the perfect gifts for all of them. She went to the register and paid.
As she was leaving, toting along her large bags, Sarah stopped for a second when she caught the eyes of a boy her own age. The boy was shopping with a person Sarah assumed was his father. There was something about his eyes...they seemed to be so familiar. Sarah shrugged it off as a random occurrence of deja vu.
Sarah drove home and quickly wrapped up the gifts she had bought, and put them under the tree. She realized how late it was getting, and went to pick up Emily from work. She noticed that it had started to snow again, the snow from late November had all melted already. Sarah was used to the snow coming down all the way from November to sometimes in April. It was just the way New England was. She cleaned off the little snow that had fallen on her car, and drove to Burlington Coat Factory to get Emily.
"YAY SNOW!" Emily screamed with delight as soon as she got outside the building. "We didn't get to play in it last time cause you were in a coma. But now we can! Let's make a fort, and a snowman, and have a snowball fight, and make snow angels!"
"I don't think it's deep enough for all that."
"Hmm. You'll see!"
Once they got home, Emily refused to go inside until they had at least built a snowman. With Sarah's help, Emily rolled up almost all the snow that had fallen in the front yard into a halfway decent snowman. "Oh Sarah take a picture of us together! I want to show Forrest his first winter someday!"
Sarah giggled, and took a picture with her phone. She smiled, thinking how similar the snowman and Emily were, both of them with rather large bellies. She ushered Emily inside for some hot chocolate after that. After both girls had warmed up, Sarah decided they should unpack the things for Forrest's nursery.
"OH YES! I had almost forget we've been so busy! YAY FORREST'S ROOM!" Emily skipped up the stairs happily.
Sarah had never been very good with tools, but with Emily reading off the directions and helping a bit, she managed to put the crib and the changing table together. She was proud of herself for being able to help her friend out. Emily's baby was rapidly becoming like her own baby. Sarah giggled to herself as she thought about how she was the daddy.
Tina had arrived home. Tina had been worried about Sarah ever since the coma, but her daughter seemed fine, she didn't even remember most of the things surrounding the coma. But Tina did. She still felt guilty for subjecting her daughter to a scientific study, but she tried not to torture herself too much about it. Sarah was fine now, and Dr. Durham said that there would be no further incidents. The study was being shut down now, after eighteen years. Tina couldn't have been more relieved to hear that.
She stuck her head into the spare room where she heard voice from. Cries of "MA!" and "MOM!" came from the room as the two girls spotted her. They showed her the work they had done for the nursery. Tina thought about how soon she'd have a baby in the house. She almost felt like she herself was becoming a grandma. It was a warm kind of feeling. "You girls did a good job setting this up! Without any help, I'm impressed."
"We still got a lot of work to do Ma. Forrest will be here before we know it."
"He's gonna have the BEST NURSERY EVER!"
Tina smiled. Everything seemed like it was back to normal.
Words This Part: 2466
Words Total: 45420
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Fleeting Glimpse, part 21
The sound of childrens' laughter rang out through the air. It was warm and slightly muggy here, like a tropical paradise. Sarah looked around herself at the place that toted itself, the world's largest water park. There was a small lake surrounded by a beach, water slides, a large river to go rafting down, and many other things here. It was amazing to look at. Sarah walked around the park, taking in the sights, and for once in her life not worrying about how she looked in a bathing suit. Jeff lagged behind her, looking slightly anxious.
"Is it too hot for you?" Sarah asked sweetly.
"Oh no, I'm fine." Jeff looked around him, as if he was searching for something. Sarah had no idea what could be the matter with Jeff today. He was acting so odd.
Sarah gently took his hand and said, "Come on, you need to cool off. Let's go down that water slide!" Sarah pointed up towards one of the taller slides. It looked like a fun ride, it wasn't too fast, and was surrounded by beautiful tropical plants. Sarah started climbing up the stairs, and was hit with a sudden blast of deja vu. Why would stairs be so familiar to her? She didn't question it too much, and made her way to the top.
This slide was more like a log flume, but they were to ride a small raft down. Sarah sat in front, with Jeff behind her. He put his arms around Sarah's stomach, and she felt the butterflies take flight in her tummy. Sarah didn't have much time to dwell on this feeling, because before she knew it, they were sliding down. The raft took many twists and turns down the slide, the tropical plants became like a rainbow blur. It was beautiful to look at, and Sarah was almost sad when the raft splashed to the end.
As Sarah and Jeff looked around at the attractions, trying to decide what to do next, Sarah heard Jeff mumbling to himself, "So far so good..."
"Eh?" Sarah asked him.
"Oh nothing." Jeff looked away, like a dog who had been caught doing something bad.
"You've been acting..." Sarah stopped talking. She smelt something awful in the air. It smelt like decaying, rotten flesh. It almost made her want to vomit. She looked around and saw the other water park attendees putting their hands to their faces, and making expressions of disgust. "Oh god do you smell that?"
Jeff nodded, unable to take his hand away from his nose. He was beginning to look a bit green.
That's when the screaming began. From the front of the park it started, and it moved towards the back like a wave. The word that was being screamed was clear.
"ZOMBIES!!!"
"Is it too hot for you?" Sarah asked sweetly.
"Oh no, I'm fine." Jeff looked around him, as if he was searching for something. Sarah had no idea what could be the matter with Jeff today. He was acting so odd.
Sarah gently took his hand and said, "Come on, you need to cool off. Let's go down that water slide!" Sarah pointed up towards one of the taller slides. It looked like a fun ride, it wasn't too fast, and was surrounded by beautiful tropical plants. Sarah started climbing up the stairs, and was hit with a sudden blast of deja vu. Why would stairs be so familiar to her? She didn't question it too much, and made her way to the top.
This slide was more like a log flume, but they were to ride a small raft down. Sarah sat in front, with Jeff behind her. He put his arms around Sarah's stomach, and she felt the butterflies take flight in her tummy. Sarah didn't have much time to dwell on this feeling, because before she knew it, they were sliding down. The raft took many twists and turns down the slide, the tropical plants became like a rainbow blur. It was beautiful to look at, and Sarah was almost sad when the raft splashed to the end.
As Sarah and Jeff looked around at the attractions, trying to decide what to do next, Sarah heard Jeff mumbling to himself, "So far so good..."
"Eh?" Sarah asked him.
"Oh nothing." Jeff looked away, like a dog who had been caught doing something bad.
"You've been acting..." Sarah stopped talking. She smelt something awful in the air. It smelt like decaying, rotten flesh. It almost made her want to vomit. She looked around and saw the other water park attendees putting their hands to their faces, and making expressions of disgust. "Oh god do you smell that?"
Jeff nodded, unable to take his hand away from his nose. He was beginning to look a bit green.
That's when the screaming began. From the front of the park it started, and it moved towards the back like a wave. The word that was being screamed was clear.
"ZOMBIES!!!"
---
Tina sat near her daughter's bed, lost in her thoughts. Jenn was sitting near her, but Emily was standing next to Sarah, telling her stories. Emily said that even if Sarah was in a coma she could still hear her, and she didn't want her to be bored. So she told her stories of all sorts, Tina didn't really know she wasn't paying much attention.
Her own thoughts were focused on that day, over eighteen years ago, when she had been still pregnant with Sarah.
The doctor had approached her, asked if she would participate in a scientific study. He said that it would be no risk to her yet to be born baby. He said that it would pay well. Tina had needed the money, she had a new baby on the way after all.
Tina felt so much regret at accepting that offer.
Her own thoughts were focused on that day, over eighteen years ago, when she had been still pregnant with Sarah.
The doctor had approached her, asked if she would participate in a scientific study. He said that it would be no risk to her yet to be born baby. He said that it would pay well. Tina had needed the money, she had a new baby on the way after all.
Tina felt so much regret at accepting that offer.
---
The crowd started running, almost separating Sarah and Jeff. Sarah grabbed Jeff's hand to keep them together as they ran from the yet unseen zombie threat. Sarah looked around, calculating where would be the best place to run, where would they be the safest. She spotted a hillside cafe, up on top of a tall cliff. She told Jeff as she pointed towards it "There, we have to go there!"
They split off from the rest of the crowd slightly, and began the climb up a long staircase up the cliff. While everyone else seemed to be in a panic, Sarah's mind was as clear as a crisp spring morning. "There is no exit that way, the only way out is the entrance, and we can't go that way the zombies are coming in that way." Sarah explained as she ran up the stairs. She didn't feel out of breath, even with all the physical exercise. She wondered if she was working on pure adrenaline here. "At least on the cliff we'll be mostly protected, and can board ourselves up in the cafe and wait for help." Sarah wondered if help would ever come, and how wide spread this outbreak of zombies was. She didn't want to hope for the worst, so she just hoped for the best. That someone would be coming to save them.
A few other people seemed to have the same idea, and ran up the stairs with Jeff and Sarah. They soon reached the top, and even from up there, the putrid stench of rotted flesh was just as strong. A few people mulled around at the top, as if looking for guidance. Sarah decided that she would have to do her best and work through her shyness. These people needed help, and she was the one who could do that.
She began to bark out orders. "You two, start boarding up the windows. Break the tables inside if you have to. You three, go in the kitchen and look for any weapons. Come on Jeff, let's start making a barricade at the top of these stairs to slow down any zombies that try to make it this far." Sarah felt like a general in an army. Soon everyone got to work.
Sarah and Jeff used some tables and chairs to block off a part of the stairs. They tried their best to build a good barricade, but they didn't have any hammers or nails. The few nails and the single hammer that was found inside the cafe was being used to board up the windows. The three who had been sent to find weapons made a pile of knifes and other kitchen instruments in the center of the cafe, and then went to help board up the windows or build the barricade. Although they worked fast, Sarah was beginning to see some gray, half rotten, shuffling bodies far below her. She could see them chasing after some other people, and looked away as they started to devour an older man.
One of the few people on the cliff suggested they throw burning things down on the zombies. Sarah shook her head. "Do you really want flaming zombies chasing after you? I don't think fire alone will keep them away, and we don't really have much left to burn." Sarah was starting to feel more and more scared. She tried to remain calm for those around her, but it was difficult. This was an unusual situation, and she hoped she was making the right choices.
Jeff looked down below them, and shouted out "SARAH!" Sarah looked down and saw that a few zombies were making their way up the stairs to the cliff-side cafe.
"Everyone inside, and barricade the door!" Sarah shouted. They all rushed into the cafe. They used the few remaining tables and nails to secure the door. Sarah just hoped it would be enough. She went to the pile of kitchen equipment, and chose a rather long knife. She knew they might just end up having to defend themselves.
And then, they waited.
Sarah sat down near one corner, and Jeff joined her with a long pipe in his hand. Jeff looked like he had something on his mind, but he wasn't speaking.
"Jeff..." Sarah began, feeling an awkward silence between them. "If you have something you want to say you better say it now."
Jeff looked scared, but remained silent. Instead of talking, he leaned forward and gave Sarah a hug. Sarah hugged him back with the arm that wasn't holding the knife. That's when she heard a scratching and a loud moaning noise at the door. The zombies were here.
Sarah stood in a defensive position, followed by her new comrades in arms. Jeff was right beside her, looking less than thrilled at the battle that would soon commence. The scratching at the door became louder and louder before it broke open.
The zombies were even more disgusting in person, their flesh seeming to hang off their bones at awkward angles, and the stench of them was much stronger now. Sarah went to start attacking them with her knife, determined to not give up and do her best to protect her life and the lives of those around her. She was stopped by a tugging at her elbow.
"No Sarah."
"Jeff this is HARDLY THE TIME FOR TALKING" Sarah raged trying to move forward again, but Jeff put both his arms around her, stopping her forward motion.
"Sarah look this is a dream. A DREAM." Sarah couldn't see Jeff's face, but she could tell he was being sincere, yet she had no time to think about what he was saying, the zombies were almost upon them.
"What? What do you mean?"
"We have to wake up. I don't want to do this Sarah. It's a DREAM! A DREAM!" Sarah's memory came rushing back at this, and she closed her eyes as a zombie took a swing at her. She felt herself falling backwards, and when she opened her eyes again, she recognized the blackness before her.
Words this part: 1660
Word Total: 41128
They split off from the rest of the crowd slightly, and began the climb up a long staircase up the cliff. While everyone else seemed to be in a panic, Sarah's mind was as clear as a crisp spring morning. "There is no exit that way, the only way out is the entrance, and we can't go that way the zombies are coming in that way." Sarah explained as she ran up the stairs. She didn't feel out of breath, even with all the physical exercise. She wondered if she was working on pure adrenaline here. "At least on the cliff we'll be mostly protected, and can board ourselves up in the cafe and wait for help." Sarah wondered if help would ever come, and how wide spread this outbreak of zombies was. She didn't want to hope for the worst, so she just hoped for the best. That someone would be coming to save them.
A few other people seemed to have the same idea, and ran up the stairs with Jeff and Sarah. They soon reached the top, and even from up there, the putrid stench of rotted flesh was just as strong. A few people mulled around at the top, as if looking for guidance. Sarah decided that she would have to do her best and work through her shyness. These people needed help, and she was the one who could do that.
She began to bark out orders. "You two, start boarding up the windows. Break the tables inside if you have to. You three, go in the kitchen and look for any weapons. Come on Jeff, let's start making a barricade at the top of these stairs to slow down any zombies that try to make it this far." Sarah felt like a general in an army. Soon everyone got to work.
Sarah and Jeff used some tables and chairs to block off a part of the stairs. They tried their best to build a good barricade, but they didn't have any hammers or nails. The few nails and the single hammer that was found inside the cafe was being used to board up the windows. The three who had been sent to find weapons made a pile of knifes and other kitchen instruments in the center of the cafe, and then went to help board up the windows or build the barricade. Although they worked fast, Sarah was beginning to see some gray, half rotten, shuffling bodies far below her. She could see them chasing after some other people, and looked away as they started to devour an older man.
One of the few people on the cliff suggested they throw burning things down on the zombies. Sarah shook her head. "Do you really want flaming zombies chasing after you? I don't think fire alone will keep them away, and we don't really have much left to burn." Sarah was starting to feel more and more scared. She tried to remain calm for those around her, but it was difficult. This was an unusual situation, and she hoped she was making the right choices.
Jeff looked down below them, and shouted out "SARAH!" Sarah looked down and saw that a few zombies were making their way up the stairs to the cliff-side cafe.
"Everyone inside, and barricade the door!" Sarah shouted. They all rushed into the cafe. They used the few remaining tables and nails to secure the door. Sarah just hoped it would be enough. She went to the pile of kitchen equipment, and chose a rather long knife. She knew they might just end up having to defend themselves.
And then, they waited.
Sarah sat down near one corner, and Jeff joined her with a long pipe in his hand. Jeff looked like he had something on his mind, but he wasn't speaking.
"Jeff..." Sarah began, feeling an awkward silence between them. "If you have something you want to say you better say it now."
Jeff looked scared, but remained silent. Instead of talking, he leaned forward and gave Sarah a hug. Sarah hugged him back with the arm that wasn't holding the knife. That's when she heard a scratching and a loud moaning noise at the door. The zombies were here.
Sarah stood in a defensive position, followed by her new comrades in arms. Jeff was right beside her, looking less than thrilled at the battle that would soon commence. The scratching at the door became louder and louder before it broke open.
The zombies were even more disgusting in person, their flesh seeming to hang off their bones at awkward angles, and the stench of them was much stronger now. Sarah went to start attacking them with her knife, determined to not give up and do her best to protect her life and the lives of those around her. She was stopped by a tugging at her elbow.
"No Sarah."
"Jeff this is HARDLY THE TIME FOR TALKING" Sarah raged trying to move forward again, but Jeff put both his arms around her, stopping her forward motion.
"Sarah look this is a dream. A DREAM." Sarah couldn't see Jeff's face, but she could tell he was being sincere, yet she had no time to think about what he was saying, the zombies were almost upon them.
"What? What do you mean?"
"We have to wake up. I don't want to do this Sarah. It's a DREAM! A DREAM!" Sarah's memory came rushing back at this, and she closed her eyes as a zombie took a swing at her. She felt herself falling backwards, and when she opened her eyes again, she recognized the blackness before her.
Words this part: 1660
Word Total: 41128
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Fleeting Glimpse, part 20
In was well into the afternoon before the a nurse came out and greeted Tina, Jenn, and Emily. They had all just finished eating lunches bought from the hospital cafeteria, and were getting weary of waiting. Seeing the nurse, and hoping for some good news, brought up their broken spirits some.
"She's stable now, you can visit her." The nurse told them. Jenn and Emily were excited, but at the same time slightly disappointed that she hadn't woken up yet.
"What's wrong?" Tina asked. "When will she wake up?" Tina fretted and worried.
"We don't know yet." the nurse said sadly. "I can show you to her room." The nurse took them down the halls, and they all demurely followed behind.
When they arrived at her room, Emily ran in quickly, followed by a less quick Jenn. Tina stayed behind, she had a question to ask the nurse. "Is there a Doctor Durham here?"
The nurse raised an eyebrow, but responded "Yes. He's the one taking care of your daughter. You'll probably see him later today." Tina thanked the nurse, and went into the room to see her daughter.
"She's stable now, you can visit her." The nurse told them. Jenn and Emily were excited, but at the same time slightly disappointed that she hadn't woken up yet.
"What's wrong?" Tina asked. "When will she wake up?" Tina fretted and worried.
"We don't know yet." the nurse said sadly. "I can show you to her room." The nurse took them down the halls, and they all demurely followed behind.
When they arrived at her room, Emily ran in quickly, followed by a less quick Jenn. Tina stayed behind, she had a question to ask the nurse. "Is there a Doctor Durham here?"
The nurse raised an eyebrow, but responded "Yes. He's the one taking care of your daughter. You'll probably see him later today." Tina thanked the nurse, and went into the room to see her daughter.
---
Sarah opened her eyes and found only darkness around her. "Is this what death is like?" She said out loud, to no one particular. In front of her, she started to be able to make out a hazy shape in the distance. Her eyes focused, and she realized they were a set of stairs. "Eh?" Sarah sat up quickly, and the world started to swim before her eyes. She eventually found her balance again. She looked around the room, and realized she was indeed back in the black tower. The memory of the latest floor was burned into her memory. It had been a terrifying experience, what was more terrifying was the fact that she had acted in the dream in a way she would never act in real life. Had she been a spy? What was that organization? Did it really mean anything or had it just been another peril for her to overcome to reach the final floor of the tower? She wanted to ask Jeff what he thought. Sarah looked around, and began to panic.
"Jeff? JEFF?" Sarah looked around the room, trying to find him anywhere. It wasn't hard, the room was smaller than the last two had been. Yet she couldn't see him. He wasn't in the room with her. Sarah's heart beat faster. Was this because she had died in the dream and he hadn't? Would this mean she had to take on the rest of the tower on her own? She didn't know if she could. She didn't even know what it was she even had to destroy. Jeff was the one with all the answers, Sarah had nothing without him. Sarah had just gotten to her feet trying to decide what to do next, when she felt the tower quiver.
"Jeff!" Sarah exclaimed, seeing him suddenly appear in the center of the room. He was holding his head and looking slightly confused, but he was alright. Sarah ran over to him and gave him a hug, before backing away and asking "Are you alright? What happened?"
"I...I don't know." Jeff looked concerned. "You died Sarah." Jeff looked like he was going to cry. "I was so scared. We can't do this anymore, we have to leave this tower."
"No! We can't do that Jeff. I know it's scary, but look I'm fine!" Sarah waved her arms around erratically as if to prove her point. "It's just a dream. We can't give up, we can do this together."
"It's just, these dreams are becoming so realistic. The first two didn't feel as real as that one did." Jeff shivered. This was not what he had been expecting in this tower.
"It's okay Jeff. Besides, look, this room is smaller. We must be getting closer to the top." Sarah did her best to smile and look reassuring to her friend. She put out her hand to help Jeff stand up.
"Alright. I'm just...I don't know, that man in that dream, he well..." Jeff trailed off.
"What is it Jeff?"
"I can't tell you right now. I don't even know for myself." Jeff seemed worried.
Sarah felt herself getting angry. Jeff was hiding things from her. "ARGH!" She shouted, feeling frustrated. "You know what's going on here don't you? Why can't you just tell me? Wouldn't it make it easier for both of us if we both knew? I don't like secrets Jeff. You told me you loved me but you cant trust me with whatever it is you are keeping locked away? Just tell me PLEASE!"
Jeff shook his head sadly. "I really can't Sarah. It's just...let's keep going alright? We'll never get out of here if we stand here arguing." Jeff started making his way towards the stairs and the next door. Sarah followed, feeling a rage in her heart she didn't quite understand.
"Jeff? JEFF?" Sarah looked around the room, trying to find him anywhere. It wasn't hard, the room was smaller than the last two had been. Yet she couldn't see him. He wasn't in the room with her. Sarah's heart beat faster. Was this because she had died in the dream and he hadn't? Would this mean she had to take on the rest of the tower on her own? She didn't know if she could. She didn't even know what it was she even had to destroy. Jeff was the one with all the answers, Sarah had nothing without him. Sarah had just gotten to her feet trying to decide what to do next, when she felt the tower quiver.
"Jeff!" Sarah exclaimed, seeing him suddenly appear in the center of the room. He was holding his head and looking slightly confused, but he was alright. Sarah ran over to him and gave him a hug, before backing away and asking "Are you alright? What happened?"
"I...I don't know." Jeff looked concerned. "You died Sarah." Jeff looked like he was going to cry. "I was so scared. We can't do this anymore, we have to leave this tower."
"No! We can't do that Jeff. I know it's scary, but look I'm fine!" Sarah waved her arms around erratically as if to prove her point. "It's just a dream. We can't give up, we can do this together."
"It's just, these dreams are becoming so realistic. The first two didn't feel as real as that one did." Jeff shivered. This was not what he had been expecting in this tower.
"It's okay Jeff. Besides, look, this room is smaller. We must be getting closer to the top." Sarah did her best to smile and look reassuring to her friend. She put out her hand to help Jeff stand up.
"Alright. I'm just...I don't know, that man in that dream, he well..." Jeff trailed off.
"What is it Jeff?"
"I can't tell you right now. I don't even know for myself." Jeff seemed worried.
Sarah felt herself getting angry. Jeff was hiding things from her. "ARGH!" She shouted, feeling frustrated. "You know what's going on here don't you? Why can't you just tell me? Wouldn't it make it easier for both of us if we both knew? I don't like secrets Jeff. You told me you loved me but you cant trust me with whatever it is you are keeping locked away? Just tell me PLEASE!"
Jeff shook his head sadly. "I really can't Sarah. It's just...let's keep going alright? We'll never get out of here if we stand here arguing." Jeff started making his way towards the stairs and the next door. Sarah followed, feeling a rage in her heart she didn't quite understand.
---
A doctor tended to his young patient. He checked his vital signs, and made sure the boy was comfortable with a tenderness that doctors rarely show for their patients. Still as he went to leave the room, he whispered to the unconscious boy, "This isn't what was supposed to happen."
A few rooms away, a mother and two girls hovered around the still sleeping body of their friend. Each of them hoping they could in some way help her, knowing that they could not.
Words this part: 985
Words Total: 39468
(The total maybe a bit off, I was doing some editing to the beginning of the story cause I realized I randomly went from the month of January to November. YAY RANDOM INCONSISTENCIES)
A few rooms away, a mother and two girls hovered around the still sleeping body of their friend. Each of them hoping they could in some way help her, knowing that they could not.
Words this part: 985
Words Total: 39468
(The total maybe a bit off, I was doing some editing to the beginning of the story cause I realized I randomly went from the month of January to November. YAY RANDOM INCONSISTENCIES)
Fleeting Glimpse, part 19
"Jeff, do you hear that?" Sarah said her eyes widening in horror.
"Oh who's trying to scare who now?" Jeff said with an air of humor.
"Shhhhh" Sarah was silent, her ears, straining to hear the sound she feared most of all.
Drip, drip, drip.
"Jeff it's the Black Pond Demon!" Sarah said trying to get out of the sleeping bag and finding herself getting more tangled up in it instead. Jeff was silent for a moment, he was unsure of himself, and if he had really heard the noises coming from outside their tent.
"Sarah, I just made up that story. There is no Black Pond Demon." Jeff said, trying to reassure himself more than anyone else.
Sarah managed to get herself untangled from the sleeping bag and searched around the tent for a flashlight, and something to protect herself. She found the flashlight near the front of the tent, but she couldn't find anything that she could protect herself. In her frantic flee for something she didn't notice the scratching from the back of the tent. She turned on the flashlight and pointed it towards Jeff, and then she saw it.
Two red claws were piercing the back of the tent, slowing ripping down. Sarah screamed and her mind blinded with terror she tried to open the zipper of the tent to escape, except the zipper seemed to be stuck. Sarah swore under her breath, hoping Jeff would come and help her. Sarah dared to glance back and saw Jeff looking towards the claws, the back of the tent slowing opening, frozen in fear.
"Jeff COME ON!" Sarah screamed. Jeff seemed to snap out of his funk, and he came to help Sarah open the tent. "We have to get out of her oh my god oh my god."
The tent finally opened and Jeff and Sarah spilled out the front. The noise seemed to have distracted the demon from his rending the back of the tent apart. Sarah and Jeff were too busy trying to get up to notice the demon slowly approaching them.
"JEFF THAT MONSTER IS REAL!" Sarah screamed hysterically. She was panicking, and out of her mind with fear. Jeff had already stood up, and pulled Sarah to her feet. Then in a blink of an eye, he noticed the red monstrosity making it's way towards them. He pointed towards the demon, unable to move, unable to make a sound, paralyzed in fear.
Sarah motioned the flashlight in the direction Jeff was pointing. She saw the demon in the full light, the light momentarily blinding it, freezing it in place so Sarah could get an even better look at it. It was small like a child, but was blood red from head to toe. Black horns grew out of it's head, and sharp pointed teeth, dripping with the same red substance, stuck out of it's demented grinning mouth. His head appeared too big for the rest of it's body. The demon seemed to overcome it's initial start from the bright light, and started brandishing it's sharp claws at the two paralyzed humans.
Sarah overcame her own shock, and took Jeff's hand and started running. Jeff initially resisted, but he began to run with her as well. Sarah could hear the all too quick footsteps of the monster behind them, each step accented with an oozing splat. Sarah tried to run through the trees, not caring where she was going, she just wanted to put as much space between herself and the demon. Sarah felt as if she could not possibly run fast enough to escape, time itself seemed to be slowing down, but only for herself, the demon seemed to be getting closer and closer.
A tree had fallen down up ahead, Jeff noticed it in time to jump, but Sarah ran into it, falling down on her hands and knees. Jeff looked startled, he wanted to keep running but he couldn't leave Sarah behind. He quickly tried to pull Sarah back up again, but it was too late. The demon was there.
The demon jumped onto Sarah, leaning it's face up against Sarah's. She could feel it's sticky blood covering her, and she suddenly couldn't move anymore. She had succumbed to the demon's poison, it paralyzed her. Jeff was behind her, still pulling on her hand, but she could not longer feel him. Instead all she could feel was the demon's breath upon her face. The demon whispered in a voice much too deep for such a small creature "Your soul." The demon's smile seemed to widen, showing far too many teeth than could possibly fit into such a small mouth.
Sarah's mind reeled. No, she thought, this can't be real this has to be a dream. Sarah's thoughts seemed to come out of her mouth without her realizing it. "This is a DREAM! THIS HAS TO BE A DREAM."
Sarah found herself lying on the cold black floor of the tower, Jeff still trying to pull her out of danger. The darkness of the ceiling replaced the formerly starry sky, and Sarah started to laugh hysterically.
"Oh who's trying to scare who now?" Jeff said with an air of humor.
"Shhhhh" Sarah was silent, her ears, straining to hear the sound she feared most of all.
Drip, drip, drip.
"Jeff it's the Black Pond Demon!" Sarah said trying to get out of the sleeping bag and finding herself getting more tangled up in it instead. Jeff was silent for a moment, he was unsure of himself, and if he had really heard the noises coming from outside their tent.
"Sarah, I just made up that story. There is no Black Pond Demon." Jeff said, trying to reassure himself more than anyone else.
Sarah managed to get herself untangled from the sleeping bag and searched around the tent for a flashlight, and something to protect herself. She found the flashlight near the front of the tent, but she couldn't find anything that she could protect herself. In her frantic flee for something she didn't notice the scratching from the back of the tent. She turned on the flashlight and pointed it towards Jeff, and then she saw it.
Two red claws were piercing the back of the tent, slowing ripping down. Sarah screamed and her mind blinded with terror she tried to open the zipper of the tent to escape, except the zipper seemed to be stuck. Sarah swore under her breath, hoping Jeff would come and help her. Sarah dared to glance back and saw Jeff looking towards the claws, the back of the tent slowing opening, frozen in fear.
"Jeff COME ON!" Sarah screamed. Jeff seemed to snap out of his funk, and he came to help Sarah open the tent. "We have to get out of her oh my god oh my god."
The tent finally opened and Jeff and Sarah spilled out the front. The noise seemed to have distracted the demon from his rending the back of the tent apart. Sarah and Jeff were too busy trying to get up to notice the demon slowly approaching them.
"JEFF THAT MONSTER IS REAL!" Sarah screamed hysterically. She was panicking, and out of her mind with fear. Jeff had already stood up, and pulled Sarah to her feet. Then in a blink of an eye, he noticed the red monstrosity making it's way towards them. He pointed towards the demon, unable to move, unable to make a sound, paralyzed in fear.
Sarah motioned the flashlight in the direction Jeff was pointing. She saw the demon in the full light, the light momentarily blinding it, freezing it in place so Sarah could get an even better look at it. It was small like a child, but was blood red from head to toe. Black horns grew out of it's head, and sharp pointed teeth, dripping with the same red substance, stuck out of it's demented grinning mouth. His head appeared too big for the rest of it's body. The demon seemed to overcome it's initial start from the bright light, and started brandishing it's sharp claws at the two paralyzed humans.
Sarah overcame her own shock, and took Jeff's hand and started running. Jeff initially resisted, but he began to run with her as well. Sarah could hear the all too quick footsteps of the monster behind them, each step accented with an oozing splat. Sarah tried to run through the trees, not caring where she was going, she just wanted to put as much space between herself and the demon. Sarah felt as if she could not possibly run fast enough to escape, time itself seemed to be slowing down, but only for herself, the demon seemed to be getting closer and closer.
A tree had fallen down up ahead, Jeff noticed it in time to jump, but Sarah ran into it, falling down on her hands and knees. Jeff looked startled, he wanted to keep running but he couldn't leave Sarah behind. He quickly tried to pull Sarah back up again, but it was too late. The demon was there.
The demon jumped onto Sarah, leaning it's face up against Sarah's. She could feel it's sticky blood covering her, and she suddenly couldn't move anymore. She had succumbed to the demon's poison, it paralyzed her. Jeff was behind her, still pulling on her hand, but she could not longer feel him. Instead all she could feel was the demon's breath upon her face. The demon whispered in a voice much too deep for such a small creature "Your soul." The demon's smile seemed to widen, showing far too many teeth than could possibly fit into such a small mouth.
Sarah's mind reeled. No, she thought, this can't be real this has to be a dream. Sarah's thoughts seemed to come out of her mouth without her realizing it. "This is a DREAM! THIS HAS TO BE A DREAM."
Sarah found herself lying on the cold black floor of the tower, Jeff still trying to pull her out of danger. The darkness of the ceiling replaced the formerly starry sky, and Sarah started to laugh hysterically.
---
Jenn had driven to the hospital that morning faster than she had ever driven anywhere previously in her life. She was glad that no cops had stopped her, the last thing she needed was a speeding ticket. She couldn't really deal with anymore stress in her life at the moment. She remembered the frantic phone call she had received that morning. Emily had been half screaming, half crying into the phone that Sarah was in a coma, that she hadn't woken up that morning. Jenn had jumped into her car as fast as she could, not even stopping to clean off the fresh blanket of snow that had covered it. Jenn normally loved the snow, but now it only seemed a hindrance to her getting to the hospital as fast as she could.
Jenn found Emily and Sarah's mom sitting a waiting room, waiting for news about Sarah. Emily leaped up as soon as she saw Jenn, and didn't say a word, just hugged Jenn tightly. Jenn was worried for Emily and her baby, surely all this stress couldn't be good for Forrest, or for his momma. Jenn hugged Sarah gently back, and went to sit back down. Jenn followed them, and waited news on Sarah, who was currently in the ER.
Emily tried to make small talk and wondered out loud to herself "Are comas contagious?"
"Eh?" Jenn said, wondering where Emily got such an idea. "No..."
"Well don't you remember?" Emily's voice got higher and her speaking pace became faster. "Sarah went to see her not boyfriend in the hospital yesterday, and he was in a coma. She even held his hand, and now's she's in a coma. I mean it can't be a coincidence right? Things like that just don't happen."
"Who?" Tina looked up from the hospital floor she had previously been staring at trying to distract herself. She was counting the tiles, wondering how long it would be until the doctors came out with some good news for all of them.
"You know, her not boyfriend. Well I said he was her boyfriend, but she was like, no he's just my friend since I was real little." Emily said quickly. Tina's mind whirled. For as long as she could remember, Sarah had no friends. Jenn and Emily were the first friends she had ever mentioned, and she didn't think her daughter would be keeping secrets from her, no matter how shy Sarah acted to the rest of the world, she was pretty open with her mother. "What was his name?" Emily continued. "Oh yeah Jeffery Durham."
Tina looked over at Emily with a shocked expression on her face, her mind winding back the years to where she had heard that name before. Terror took over Tina. This was all her fault.
Jenn found Emily and Sarah's mom sitting a waiting room, waiting for news about Sarah. Emily leaped up as soon as she saw Jenn, and didn't say a word, just hugged Jenn tightly. Jenn was worried for Emily and her baby, surely all this stress couldn't be good for Forrest, or for his momma. Jenn hugged Sarah gently back, and went to sit back down. Jenn followed them, and waited news on Sarah, who was currently in the ER.
Emily tried to make small talk and wondered out loud to herself "Are comas contagious?"
"Eh?" Jenn said, wondering where Emily got such an idea. "No..."
"Well don't you remember?" Emily's voice got higher and her speaking pace became faster. "Sarah went to see her not boyfriend in the hospital yesterday, and he was in a coma. She even held his hand, and now's she's in a coma. I mean it can't be a coincidence right? Things like that just don't happen."
"Who?" Tina looked up from the hospital floor she had previously been staring at trying to distract herself. She was counting the tiles, wondering how long it would be until the doctors came out with some good news for all of them.
"You know, her not boyfriend. Well I said he was her boyfriend, but she was like, no he's just my friend since I was real little." Emily said quickly. Tina's mind whirled. For as long as she could remember, Sarah had no friends. Jenn and Emily were the first friends she had ever mentioned, and she didn't think her daughter would be keeping secrets from her, no matter how shy Sarah acted to the rest of the world, she was pretty open with her mother. "What was his name?" Emily continued. "Oh yeah Jeffery Durham."
Tina looked over at Emily with a shocked expression on her face, her mind winding back the years to where she had heard that name before. Terror took over Tina. This was all her fault.
---
Sarah stopped laughing as Jeff hovered over her in concern. "Sorry I was so scared I just had to laugh. Guess this tower is going to be pretty hard to complete." Sarah sighed to herself.
"I don't even want to go any further." Jeff shivered. He had not been expected something like that to happen.
"We have to Jeff. Don't you want to see your family again?"
Jeff made a sound of disgust. "I don't think they'll even care if they see me again. My dad is some big doctor and he's never even home. He never pays attention to me when he is. He just wants to talk about his latest work. And my mom, well she thinks I sleep too much and I should do something with my life. I am taking some classes right now, but it's not going so well. I think she wants me to be a doctor like my father, but I don't want to do that."
"What do you want to do?" Sarah asked, happy to be actually talking with Jeff. After all these years of being so close to him, she still felt sometimes like she hardly knew him at all. She wondered why she had never bothered asking these questions before. Well perhaps because she had always assumed he was just a dream. Now that she knew he was real, she wanted to know more and more about him.
"I want to be an author. I love telling stories. I want to just be able to tell stories for the rest of my life." Jeff smiled. "What about you Sarah?"
Sarah thought for a moment. She had never really thought that much about her own future. She didn't really have any skills, but she was a fast learner. She remembered when she was a little girl she had wanted to be a teacher, or a ballerina, or an astronaut. She laughed and told Jeff "I'm not sure yet, but something. I used to be so shy, I hated just being around other people, but now, now I don't mind it so much. I feel like I could be anything really."
"In your dreams you can be anything" Jeff laughed.
"Yeah well we have to get out of this black tower first. Then I wouldn't mind having some normal dreams. Let's keep going. I'm so scared that someone will find me see that I can't wake up. I don't want to scare my mom, or my friends." Sarah cringed at the thought of her mom finding Sarah and trying to wake her up and being unable to. Sarah didn't want to impart that kind of pain on her mother. "Hurry!"
Sarah started jogging towards to next set of stairs, towards the next door. She was afraid of what might lie behind it this time, but she knew she had to keep pressing forward. The door opened and...
The world tore past Sarah as she drove down the street as fast as possible. Jeff was sitting shot gun, with a shot gun, shooting behind them at the car that was chasing them. Everything seemed to smear as Sarah pressed the gas to the floor, trying to make the car go faster yet. She blazed through red lights, quickly swerved around cars. The sounds of gunshots blasted all around Sarah, but she tried not to think too much about it. A bullet struck their back windshield, and shards of glass flew everywhere. Sarah closed her eyes momentarily, but had to open them again quickly so she could see where they were going. Glass coated the back seat of the car, but Sarah seemed to be uninjured.
Jeff pulled the trigger of his gun, and made a lucky shot. He got the tire of the car behind them, sending the car spinning and it wrecked into a telephone pole. The car exploded behind them, Sarah noted as she raced off without the threat of being shot behind her anymore.
"How did they find us so fast?" Sarah thought out loud.
"I don't know. There has to be a double agent in our midst." Jeff said angrily. "Quick we have to get back to the base. I'm bleeding."
Sarah dared a glance over, and saw that Jeff was bleeding from his arm. She ignored the urge to help him, and made her way to their secret base.
The base was an old shack near the edge of the river. It was hard to get there, and no one would ever expect it. Sarah quickly got out of the car and helped Jeff into the shack. His breathing was getting more ragged, Sarah knew he had to be in a lot of pain. Sarah found Devon typing away at his computer inside, and Lisa was sitting at a table with her feet up smoking a cigarette. Lisa jumped up and quickly ran to their aid. "What happened? This was supposed to be an in and out job."
"They were waiting for us. They knew we'd be there." Jeff painfully said.
"Did you get the info?" Devon said, not turning around from the computer, in fact he didn't even stop his rapid typing.
"Of course, who do you take me for?" Sarah laughed.
Lisa started to tend to Jeff's wound. A shard of glass had embedded into his arm, and she got out her bag of medical gear to try and remove it. Sarah sauntered over to Devon, handing his the USB drive that had the information on it. "We didn't have much time, but it's all there."
Devon inserted the USB drive into his computer. He seemed to go over all the files in no time, while Sarah went and held Jeff's hand as Lisa finished bandaging him up. Sarah's mind began to wander. Who had betrayed them, and why? Could it have been Lisa or Devon? It couldn't have been Jeff, why would he put his life on the line? Sarah let out a frustrated groan, she trusted everyone in this room, she had no reason to doubt any of them.
Devon let out a yelp of excitement. "Yes! With this we can take them down once and for all. This proves their organization has been stealing the profits, now we just have to get this out to the press." Devon stopped mid-sentence as he heard a loud bang outside of their shack. Sarah glanced out the window and saw dozens of cars pulling up towards their shack.
"Shit!" She muttered. "How could they have found us here so fast?"
"Sarah this is not your fault." Jeff said from his chair. Sarah's heart beat quickened.
"I know that. It's my mother's organization. She's been stealing from all those people, she's even killed countless others. I couldn't let it go on. But now I've put you all in danger." Sarah sighed, backing away from the window. Her mind raced at who could've betrayed them all. She had no answers, and no time. She thought quickly. "If I give myself up maybe they'll let you all go."
"NO! Not after everything we've worked for." Jeff said with passion. "You can't Sarah, they'll kill you."
"What other options to we have left? We can't take them all on, we are severely outnumbered. I'd rather die then see you all die." Sarah said, her heart heavy.
"Sarah..." Lisa said, looking down. "You can't..." Tears began to fall from Lisa's face, but she knew it was too late. Once Sarah made up her mind, you couldn't force her to do anything else.
"I'm going." Sarah went towards to door, but Jeff grabbed her arm, and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Sarah, I love you, you can't." Jeff's eyes were welling up with tears. He kissed her with a burning fire of desire. Sarah returned the kiss.
"I love you too Jeff, that's why I have to do this."
Sarah headed for the door. Devon had stopped typing, and watched Sarah's progress across the room. He didn't know what to say, so he let her go without saying anything at all. Jeff tried to stop Sarah, tried to run after her, but Lisa held onto his good arm, stopping him. Jeff was in too much pain to resist.
Sarah opened the door to the shack, and put both her hands in the air. She saw that men were lined up behind the cars, all pointing guns at her. Sarah yelled out "I give up! Please don't shoot. Please let my friends go."
A man standing towards the front, wearing an outfit of black that seemed to consume his whole body, even his face, waved his arm down, and the men all lowered their guns. Sarah made her way towards them slowly and steadily, not faltering although her heart felt heavy. She got closer to the man in the front. His face was masked, yet she could see his eyes. They seemed familiar, yet Sarah couldn't place from where. The man grasped Sarah and forced her into a kneel, and he held her two arms with one of his own. She felt a cold metal against her head.
"We don't forgive those who betray the Pinkerton Empire." The man said harshly. "Do you want to know who betrayed you to us? Do you want your last moments to be for the hatred of your so called comrades?"
"Shut up." Sarah said aggressively. "Just pull the damn trigger." Sarah hoped in her heart for a last minute rescue that she knew would never come. She looked towards her base, towards the friends she was doing this for.
"Heh, as you wish, PRINCESS." The man pulled the trigger, and Sarah felt the bullet against her head, the loud blasting noise, but felt no pain. She fell to the side as she saw Jeff running towards her almost in slow motion.
The man in black said something else, and Sarah seemed to catch the words, as if they were floating around her. "The one who betrayed you was...."
Everything went black.
Words This Part: 3086
Words Total: 38483
"I don't even want to go any further." Jeff shivered. He had not been expected something like that to happen.
"We have to Jeff. Don't you want to see your family again?"
Jeff made a sound of disgust. "I don't think they'll even care if they see me again. My dad is some big doctor and he's never even home. He never pays attention to me when he is. He just wants to talk about his latest work. And my mom, well she thinks I sleep too much and I should do something with my life. I am taking some classes right now, but it's not going so well. I think she wants me to be a doctor like my father, but I don't want to do that."
"What do you want to do?" Sarah asked, happy to be actually talking with Jeff. After all these years of being so close to him, she still felt sometimes like she hardly knew him at all. She wondered why she had never bothered asking these questions before. Well perhaps because she had always assumed he was just a dream. Now that she knew he was real, she wanted to know more and more about him.
"I want to be an author. I love telling stories. I want to just be able to tell stories for the rest of my life." Jeff smiled. "What about you Sarah?"
Sarah thought for a moment. She had never really thought that much about her own future. She didn't really have any skills, but she was a fast learner. She remembered when she was a little girl she had wanted to be a teacher, or a ballerina, or an astronaut. She laughed and told Jeff "I'm not sure yet, but something. I used to be so shy, I hated just being around other people, but now, now I don't mind it so much. I feel like I could be anything really."
"In your dreams you can be anything" Jeff laughed.
"Yeah well we have to get out of this black tower first. Then I wouldn't mind having some normal dreams. Let's keep going. I'm so scared that someone will find me see that I can't wake up. I don't want to scare my mom, or my friends." Sarah cringed at the thought of her mom finding Sarah and trying to wake her up and being unable to. Sarah didn't want to impart that kind of pain on her mother. "Hurry!"
Sarah started jogging towards to next set of stairs, towards the next door. She was afraid of what might lie behind it this time, but she knew she had to keep pressing forward. The door opened and...
The world tore past Sarah as she drove down the street as fast as possible. Jeff was sitting shot gun, with a shot gun, shooting behind them at the car that was chasing them. Everything seemed to smear as Sarah pressed the gas to the floor, trying to make the car go faster yet. She blazed through red lights, quickly swerved around cars. The sounds of gunshots blasted all around Sarah, but she tried not to think too much about it. A bullet struck their back windshield, and shards of glass flew everywhere. Sarah closed her eyes momentarily, but had to open them again quickly so she could see where they were going. Glass coated the back seat of the car, but Sarah seemed to be uninjured.
Jeff pulled the trigger of his gun, and made a lucky shot. He got the tire of the car behind them, sending the car spinning and it wrecked into a telephone pole. The car exploded behind them, Sarah noted as she raced off without the threat of being shot behind her anymore.
"How did they find us so fast?" Sarah thought out loud.
"I don't know. There has to be a double agent in our midst." Jeff said angrily. "Quick we have to get back to the base. I'm bleeding."
Sarah dared a glance over, and saw that Jeff was bleeding from his arm. She ignored the urge to help him, and made her way to their secret base.
The base was an old shack near the edge of the river. It was hard to get there, and no one would ever expect it. Sarah quickly got out of the car and helped Jeff into the shack. His breathing was getting more ragged, Sarah knew he had to be in a lot of pain. Sarah found Devon typing away at his computer inside, and Lisa was sitting at a table with her feet up smoking a cigarette. Lisa jumped up and quickly ran to their aid. "What happened? This was supposed to be an in and out job."
"They were waiting for us. They knew we'd be there." Jeff painfully said.
"Did you get the info?" Devon said, not turning around from the computer, in fact he didn't even stop his rapid typing.
"Of course, who do you take me for?" Sarah laughed.
Lisa started to tend to Jeff's wound. A shard of glass had embedded into his arm, and she got out her bag of medical gear to try and remove it. Sarah sauntered over to Devon, handing his the USB drive that had the information on it. "We didn't have much time, but it's all there."
Devon inserted the USB drive into his computer. He seemed to go over all the files in no time, while Sarah went and held Jeff's hand as Lisa finished bandaging him up. Sarah's mind began to wander. Who had betrayed them, and why? Could it have been Lisa or Devon? It couldn't have been Jeff, why would he put his life on the line? Sarah let out a frustrated groan, she trusted everyone in this room, she had no reason to doubt any of them.
Devon let out a yelp of excitement. "Yes! With this we can take them down once and for all. This proves their organization has been stealing the profits, now we just have to get this out to the press." Devon stopped mid-sentence as he heard a loud bang outside of their shack. Sarah glanced out the window and saw dozens of cars pulling up towards their shack.
"Shit!" She muttered. "How could they have found us here so fast?"
"Sarah this is not your fault." Jeff said from his chair. Sarah's heart beat quickened.
"I know that. It's my mother's organization. She's been stealing from all those people, she's even killed countless others. I couldn't let it go on. But now I've put you all in danger." Sarah sighed, backing away from the window. Her mind raced at who could've betrayed them all. She had no answers, and no time. She thought quickly. "If I give myself up maybe they'll let you all go."
"NO! Not after everything we've worked for." Jeff said with passion. "You can't Sarah, they'll kill you."
"What other options to we have left? We can't take them all on, we are severely outnumbered. I'd rather die then see you all die." Sarah said, her heart heavy.
"Sarah..." Lisa said, looking down. "You can't..." Tears began to fall from Lisa's face, but she knew it was too late. Once Sarah made up her mind, you couldn't force her to do anything else.
"I'm going." Sarah went towards to door, but Jeff grabbed her arm, and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Sarah, I love you, you can't." Jeff's eyes were welling up with tears. He kissed her with a burning fire of desire. Sarah returned the kiss.
"I love you too Jeff, that's why I have to do this."
Sarah headed for the door. Devon had stopped typing, and watched Sarah's progress across the room. He didn't know what to say, so he let her go without saying anything at all. Jeff tried to stop Sarah, tried to run after her, but Lisa held onto his good arm, stopping him. Jeff was in too much pain to resist.
Sarah opened the door to the shack, and put both her hands in the air. She saw that men were lined up behind the cars, all pointing guns at her. Sarah yelled out "I give up! Please don't shoot. Please let my friends go."
A man standing towards the front, wearing an outfit of black that seemed to consume his whole body, even his face, waved his arm down, and the men all lowered their guns. Sarah made her way towards them slowly and steadily, not faltering although her heart felt heavy. She got closer to the man in the front. His face was masked, yet she could see his eyes. They seemed familiar, yet Sarah couldn't place from where. The man grasped Sarah and forced her into a kneel, and he held her two arms with one of his own. She felt a cold metal against her head.
"We don't forgive those who betray the Pinkerton Empire." The man said harshly. "Do you want to know who betrayed you to us? Do you want your last moments to be for the hatred of your so called comrades?"
"Shut up." Sarah said aggressively. "Just pull the damn trigger." Sarah hoped in her heart for a last minute rescue that she knew would never come. She looked towards her base, towards the friends she was doing this for.
"Heh, as you wish, PRINCESS." The man pulled the trigger, and Sarah felt the bullet against her head, the loud blasting noise, but felt no pain. She fell to the side as she saw Jeff running towards her almost in slow motion.
The man in black said something else, and Sarah seemed to catch the words, as if they were floating around her. "The one who betrayed you was...."
Everything went black.
Words This Part: 3086
Words Total: 38483
Friday, November 11, 2011
Fleeting Glimpse, part 18
The trees were bare, but the sky was a brilliant blue. There was a forest surrounding them the branches of the trees laden with snow, and a huge frozen pond in the middle. Sarah sat on a bench by the edge of the pond, tying a pair of ice skates to her feet.
"Are you ready?" Jeff asked her, some of his hair poking out from beneath a knit cap. He was wearing a heavy winter coat, but it didn't feel all that cold to Sarah.
"I've never gone ice skating before, I'm nervous."
"You don't have to be nervous." Jeff's hand appeared before Sarah's face, and she took it. Jeff helped her to her feet. Sarah almost fell down again, the ice beneath her was slicker than she had expected. Jeff kept a tight grip on her arm, not allowing her to fall back down again. "I got ya. Here it's like this." Jeff demonstrated how to move his feet to Sarah. Sarah began to grasp the concept, more of a sliding motion, less like walking.
Before she knew it, she was skating along side Jeff as if she had been doing it for all her life. Still, becoming to zealous in her own abilities and trying to jump, Sarah fell down on her bottom. She felt the ice below her as she pushed herself back up, and got a suddenly feeling of wrongness in it all. The ice didn't feel cold or wet, it just felt flat.
"Are you alright?" Jeff said, kneeling slightly before Sarah. He looked with concern into her eyes, but Sarah just blushed and looked away.
"I'm fine."
Everything felt so confusing, as Sarah got back up to her feet. The pond, the trees, everything felt out of place. Where was she? How had she gotten here? She wanted to ask Jeff about it, but she felt so nervous she could hardly form words.
"Hey Sarah, did I ever tell you the story about this pond?" Jeff said skating next to Sarah again, slowing down and taking her hand.
"N..no" Sarah slightly stuttered.
"Well once upon a time, there was a beautiful young princess. She was rather rebellious, so sometimes she would run away from the castle. One day when she had run away, she came across a beautiful clearing in the woods. She found a young man playing a flute there. She was enchanted by him, and the two of them fell in love. The princess had planned on running away with the young man, for she knew her father would never allow them to marry. On the day they had planned to elope together, her father found out about her plans, and had the young man killed. The young princess was so distraught, she ran away to the field one last time. She cried a million tears they say, and those tears formed this pond." Jeff finished his story. "Kinda sad, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Sarah said quietly. She thought to herself that she was pretty sure that there had never been princesses in New England. That thought shocked her. She was in New England, or at least she was supposed to be. This looked like the setting out of a story book. "Where are we Jeff?"
"Where we are supposed to be, Princess Sarah." Sarah looked around her, and found that she was no longer wearing winter clothes, but was wearing a Renaissance era dress. It was long, and flowed around her as easily as water flows down stream. Sarah went from looking at her dress to where Jeff was sitting on a rock, wearing what looked like peasant's clothing and playing a flute. "Does the fair lady wish for me to play her a song?"
The pond was gone and replaced with a field in the middle of the trees. Sarah wanted to protest. This was all wrong. How could this be happening. Instead she sat down at the base of the rock, and nodded at Jeff to play her a song.
He began his song. It was a simple song, like the wind blowing through the trees, but a bit sad. The notes touched Sarah's heart, and made her tremble a bit. She started to sing out in tune with the flute, although she didn't know where the lyrics came from.
"I once saw a place much farther from here
A place of good, yet a place of fear
My heart beats kindly for all of us near
When I dream of Paradise.
I left that place far behind
Although it never left my mind
It wasn't a place you are likely to find,
When I dream of Paradise.
Someday I wish that we could return
Although my heart has yet to learn,
Of a place called Paradise."
Jeff put his flute down and looked kindly down at Sarah. "That was a beautiful song."
Sarah beamed at him. "Thank you." She blushed slightly at his compliment.
Jeff jumped off from the rock and sat down beside Sarah. He took her hand into his own. "I know you will likely refuse, but may I have a kiss from the princess?"
Sarah felt her blush doubling over, and quickly looked away from Jeff towards the trees. The trees sparked something in her memory. What was it? The forest. The trees in the forest.
"Forrest!"Sarah jumped to her feet. "Emily's baby Forrest!" Sarah smiled at the memory. "We aren't really here, this is a dream. We are in that dark tower still!"
Sarah looked around her, but all the scenery had gone. It was replaced by walls of ebony. There was very little light inside the tower, but towards the back of the room, Sarah could make out a staircase cut into the side of the tower. "Oh let's go! We have to reach the top of the tower, don't we?"
"Who is Emily?" Jeff stood up next to Sarah slowly.
"Oh she's...well. She's my friend. She's living with me right now, and she's going to have a baby in February. She named him Forrest. I guess seeing the trees reminded me of him. I'm glad, we might've been trapped there forever if I hadn't remembered. " Sarah sighed out a breath of relief. She didn't know that the tower was going to be like this. She wondered what waited her on higher floors. Still she knew that standing still wouldn't help. She didn't know how much time was passing in the real world, and she wanted to get out of here before they found out anything was wrong, and that she couldn't wake up anymore.
Jeff didn't move though. "I've never really had friends, it must be nice. I've always felt invisible to this world. I've always liked dreams so much more. At least in my dreams I have you Sarah."
"Well one we destroy the thing in this tower we can be friends in the real world. And you can met Jenn and Emily. We can all be friends together! Come on!" Sarah started towards the staircase. Jeff stood silently for awhile, but then began to follow Sarah up the stairs.
The stairs seemed to be made of the same black rock the tower was made of, some unearthly rock that glowed black where they touched it. Slowly but surely the two made it up the stairs to a small landing. There was another door there, much smaller than the one that they had entered the tower from. Sarah nervously opened the door, Jeff standing directly behind her, with a flash of darkness taking them over.
"Are you ready?" Jeff asked her, some of his hair poking out from beneath a knit cap. He was wearing a heavy winter coat, but it didn't feel all that cold to Sarah.
"I've never gone ice skating before, I'm nervous."
"You don't have to be nervous." Jeff's hand appeared before Sarah's face, and she took it. Jeff helped her to her feet. Sarah almost fell down again, the ice beneath her was slicker than she had expected. Jeff kept a tight grip on her arm, not allowing her to fall back down again. "I got ya. Here it's like this." Jeff demonstrated how to move his feet to Sarah. Sarah began to grasp the concept, more of a sliding motion, less like walking.
Before she knew it, she was skating along side Jeff as if she had been doing it for all her life. Still, becoming to zealous in her own abilities and trying to jump, Sarah fell down on her bottom. She felt the ice below her as she pushed herself back up, and got a suddenly feeling of wrongness in it all. The ice didn't feel cold or wet, it just felt flat.
"Are you alright?" Jeff said, kneeling slightly before Sarah. He looked with concern into her eyes, but Sarah just blushed and looked away.
"I'm fine."
Everything felt so confusing, as Sarah got back up to her feet. The pond, the trees, everything felt out of place. Where was she? How had she gotten here? She wanted to ask Jeff about it, but she felt so nervous she could hardly form words.
"Hey Sarah, did I ever tell you the story about this pond?" Jeff said skating next to Sarah again, slowing down and taking her hand.
"N..no" Sarah slightly stuttered.
"Well once upon a time, there was a beautiful young princess. She was rather rebellious, so sometimes she would run away from the castle. One day when she had run away, she came across a beautiful clearing in the woods. She found a young man playing a flute there. She was enchanted by him, and the two of them fell in love. The princess had planned on running away with the young man, for she knew her father would never allow them to marry. On the day they had planned to elope together, her father found out about her plans, and had the young man killed. The young princess was so distraught, she ran away to the field one last time. She cried a million tears they say, and those tears formed this pond." Jeff finished his story. "Kinda sad, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Sarah said quietly. She thought to herself that she was pretty sure that there had never been princesses in New England. That thought shocked her. She was in New England, or at least she was supposed to be. This looked like the setting out of a story book. "Where are we Jeff?"
"Where we are supposed to be, Princess Sarah." Sarah looked around her, and found that she was no longer wearing winter clothes, but was wearing a Renaissance era dress. It was long, and flowed around her as easily as water flows down stream. Sarah went from looking at her dress to where Jeff was sitting on a rock, wearing what looked like peasant's clothing and playing a flute. "Does the fair lady wish for me to play her a song?"
The pond was gone and replaced with a field in the middle of the trees. Sarah wanted to protest. This was all wrong. How could this be happening. Instead she sat down at the base of the rock, and nodded at Jeff to play her a song.
He began his song. It was a simple song, like the wind blowing through the trees, but a bit sad. The notes touched Sarah's heart, and made her tremble a bit. She started to sing out in tune with the flute, although she didn't know where the lyrics came from.
"I once saw a place much farther from here
A place of good, yet a place of fear
My heart beats kindly for all of us near
When I dream of Paradise.
I left that place far behind
Although it never left my mind
It wasn't a place you are likely to find,
When I dream of Paradise.
Someday I wish that we could return
Although my heart has yet to learn,
Of a place called Paradise."
Jeff put his flute down and looked kindly down at Sarah. "That was a beautiful song."
Sarah beamed at him. "Thank you." She blushed slightly at his compliment.
Jeff jumped off from the rock and sat down beside Sarah. He took her hand into his own. "I know you will likely refuse, but may I have a kiss from the princess?"
Sarah felt her blush doubling over, and quickly looked away from Jeff towards the trees. The trees sparked something in her memory. What was it? The forest. The trees in the forest.
"Forrest!"Sarah jumped to her feet. "Emily's baby Forrest!" Sarah smiled at the memory. "We aren't really here, this is a dream. We are in that dark tower still!"
Sarah looked around her, but all the scenery had gone. It was replaced by walls of ebony. There was very little light inside the tower, but towards the back of the room, Sarah could make out a staircase cut into the side of the tower. "Oh let's go! We have to reach the top of the tower, don't we?"
"Who is Emily?" Jeff stood up next to Sarah slowly.
"Oh she's...well. She's my friend. She's living with me right now, and she's going to have a baby in February. She named him Forrest. I guess seeing the trees reminded me of him. I'm glad, we might've been trapped there forever if I hadn't remembered. " Sarah sighed out a breath of relief. She didn't know that the tower was going to be like this. She wondered what waited her on higher floors. Still she knew that standing still wouldn't help. She didn't know how much time was passing in the real world, and she wanted to get out of here before they found out anything was wrong, and that she couldn't wake up anymore.
Jeff didn't move though. "I've never really had friends, it must be nice. I've always felt invisible to this world. I've always liked dreams so much more. At least in my dreams I have you Sarah."
"Well one we destroy the thing in this tower we can be friends in the real world. And you can met Jenn and Emily. We can all be friends together! Come on!" Sarah started towards the staircase. Jeff stood silently for awhile, but then began to follow Sarah up the stairs.
The stairs seemed to be made of the same black rock the tower was made of, some unearthly rock that glowed black where they touched it. Slowly but surely the two made it up the stairs to a small landing. There was another door there, much smaller than the one that they had entered the tower from. Sarah nervously opened the door, Jeff standing directly behind her, with a flash of darkness taking them over.
---
The sound of sirens echoed through the snowy morning air. Emily sat beside Tina, trying to comfort the woman who had been like a mother to her the past few days. The ambulance crew hovered over Sarah's body, putting her on oxygen. One of the men tried to ask Tina what had happened but she was too upset to answer. Emily told him about how that morning she had tried to wake up her friend, but she hadn't responded. It all seemed so unreal to Emily. Forrest kicked about in her stomach in a maddening way. Emily patted her stomach, trying to calm Forrest down. She looked over at her friend, and a feeling of fear passed through her. She wasnted Sarah to be okay again. She wanted Sarah to wake up. She was so scared. Emily tried not to think about the worst outcomes but she couldn't help it. What if Sarah stayed sleeping so long she wasn't there when Forrest was born? What if Sarah never woke up again? What if she...Emily couldn't finish he own thought, and began to sob with Tina.
Words Total: 35397
The sound of sirens echoed through the snowy morning air. Emily sat beside Tina, trying to comfort the woman who had been like a mother to her the past few days. The ambulance crew hovered over Sarah's body, putting her on oxygen. One of the men tried to ask Tina what had happened but she was too upset to answer. Emily told him about how that morning she had tried to wake up her friend, but she hadn't responded. It all seemed so unreal to Emily. Forrest kicked about in her stomach in a maddening way. Emily patted her stomach, trying to calm Forrest down. She looked over at her friend, and a feeling of fear passed through her. She wasnted Sarah to be okay again. She wanted Sarah to wake up. She was so scared. Emily tried not to think about the worst outcomes but she couldn't help it. What if Sarah stayed sleeping so long she wasn't there when Forrest was born? What if Sarah never woke up again? What if she...Emily couldn't finish he own thought, and began to sob with Tina.
---
Words this Part: 2846Sarah was laying on her back. The stars shone brilliantly in the sky. The ground felt comfortable to her as she lay there, looking at the constellations. She didn't really know that much about stars, but she saw the big dipper floating up above here. Instead of trying to figure out what the constellations were, Sarah began to make them up for her own. There was the famous kitty constellation, she thought, tracing with her finger stars in the shape of a cat head. There is the heart one, and a star constellation, she giggled to herself, making a shape of a star with the stars. She was so amused with herself, she hardly heard the voice calling out her own name.
"Sarah." Then again, this time louder and a bit more forceful "Sarah!"
Sarah sat up, dusting the dirt off her back. "Coming Jeff!"
Sarah made her way through the trees to where she saw the light of their camp fire. Sarah could almost feel a memory of being nervous about going camping with Jeff alone, but now that she was here she wasn't sure what she was so nervous about. They were having a great time. Then she looked over at the tent, and started blushing again. They were going to be sleeping so closely with each other. Sarah had never spent the night so close to someone of the opposite sex before. Even though it was Jeff, Sarah's heart started pounding faster and faster in her chest.
"Oh there you are Sarah. I was just roasting some hot dogs over the fire, I thought you might be hungry too." Jeff handed Sarah one of the sticks he was using to roast the hot dogs with. Sarah sat on the opposite side of the fire. She was still too nervous to sit any closer than that.
Sarah roasted her hot dog, and quickly ate it with mustard on top. It was pretty much tasteless, Sarah wondered if her nervousness was affected her other senses. She tried to shake herself out of it, and enjoy this camping trip with Jeff. She smiled at him, and asked about S'mores.
"What kind of a camping trip would this be without S'mores?" Jeff smiled as he took some supplies out of his backpack. "Let's get roasting!" He took a marshmalllow out of the bag then throw the bag towards Sarah. She caught it, and put her own marshmallow on her stick. She held it over the fire, watching it slowly begin to brown on the outside. When she deemed it was ready, she headed closer to Jeff to get the graham crackers and chocolate.
"Come on sit down over here." Jeff patted the log next to him. Sarah trembled a bit as she sat down and took the graham crackers and chocolate from Jeff and began constructing her S'more. "You know what else a camping trip isn't complete without?
"What?" Sarah shrugged.
"A ghost story." Jeff made a spooky "Oooh" sound.
Sarah wasn't one for ghost stories but she was alright with Jeff telling one. He was so goofy most of the time she didn't know how seriously she could take him. Of course once Jeff got into telling stories he was pretty good at it. "Alright, you got one to tell?"
Jeff nodded as he started to eat his own S'more. He took bites of it in between the sentences in his story. "It was a dark night, much like this one, with the wind blowing through the trees. There was a couple, much like us OW!" Sarah had hit him on the arm. She didn't really think of them as a couple yet. "What? Well in any case, they were two people on a camping trip who may or may not have been dating. Happy? In any case, this was not an ordinary night. This was the night that it was said that the demon of Black Pond emerges. He is a dreadful sight. Those who have seen him say he doesn't have any skin, he is just a pulsing red color, and he leaves a trail of red behind him wherever he goes. Some say it's sticky like slime, others say it is his own blood. If you touch it, the red slime or blood will paralyze you. Whatever it is, it's not as deadly as the demon himself. He travels through the woods, looking for victims. He is said to eat the souls of anyone he comes across, unless they are the lucky few to escape. After he eats your soul, he drags your body back down into Black Pond, to do terrible things to it."
"What things?"
"I don't know, everyone who was dragged down there was already dead. I can't ask the dead questions. Anyway, so the couple who was camping in the woods had been sitting quietly by their own fire, when suddenly they heard this disgusting dripping sound. Drip, drip, drip. The noise went. It got closer and closer to them. Drip, drip, drip. The girl wanted to go investigate, but drip, drip..."
"AHHHHH!" Sarah screamed as something poked her on the back. Sarah quickly turned around and found that it was Jeff and not some terrible demon behind her. She hit him on the arm again. "That wasn't funny Jeff!"
Jeff stuck out his tongue. Sarah started to giggle. Jeff joined her. They both laughed for some time when Jeff suddenly said, "Did you hear that?"
"Don't joke around Jeff, you aren't going to scare me again." Sarah pouted.
"No...well in any case don't you think we should head to bed now? It is getting kind of late." Jeff said finishing off the last of his S'more. It had taken him a lot longer to eat his than Sarah, since he had been talking the whole time. "And don't worry I'm protect you from any demons we may come across." Jeff smiled.
Jeff headed into the tent, and Sarah nervously followed after. They each had their own sleeping bags in the tent, a little bit apart from each other. Sarah snuggled down into her own sleeping bag. She turned away from Jeff and cuddled down and tried to sleep. "Night Sarah." Jeff said.
"Night Jeff." Sarah said feeling relieved that Jeff hadn't tried to make a move on her or anything. She was scared sometimes that he would want to do more with her, and she was even more scared that he would leave her if she didn't do those kinds of things with him. She knew she was being silly. Jeff knew how shy she was, and he'd wait until she was ready.
Sarah tried to fall asleep, but the nervous energy in her body wouldn't leave. She turned over to look at Jeff. He was facing her with his eyes open as well. "Can't sleep?" he whispered gently.
"Yeah..." Sarah admitted.
"Sorry for telling you that scary story."
"It's ok. That's not why I can't sleep. I just feel nervous. I've never spent the whole night with you before." Sarah felt like her whole body was shaking a bit.
Jeff unzipped the front of his sleeping bag and whispered, "Hey come over here."
Sarah was stunned at Jeff asking her to do such a thing, yet she felt compelled to go closer to him. She went into his sleeping bag, into his waiting arms. She rested her head against his should as he held her. "It's ok Sarah. We can just cuddle. I like being close to you, is all." Jeff's voice whispered directly into her ear, sending chills down her spine.
They held each other for some time, Sarah feeling very comfortable in Jeff's arms, feeling like she had no reasons to be scared. She was just about to drift off into sleep when she heard a noise outside the tent, a sickening, eerie, dripping noise.
"Sarah." Then again, this time louder and a bit more forceful "Sarah!"
Sarah sat up, dusting the dirt off her back. "Coming Jeff!"
Sarah made her way through the trees to where she saw the light of their camp fire. Sarah could almost feel a memory of being nervous about going camping with Jeff alone, but now that she was here she wasn't sure what she was so nervous about. They were having a great time. Then she looked over at the tent, and started blushing again. They were going to be sleeping so closely with each other. Sarah had never spent the night so close to someone of the opposite sex before. Even though it was Jeff, Sarah's heart started pounding faster and faster in her chest.
"Oh there you are Sarah. I was just roasting some hot dogs over the fire, I thought you might be hungry too." Jeff handed Sarah one of the sticks he was using to roast the hot dogs with. Sarah sat on the opposite side of the fire. She was still too nervous to sit any closer than that.
Sarah roasted her hot dog, and quickly ate it with mustard on top. It was pretty much tasteless, Sarah wondered if her nervousness was affected her other senses. She tried to shake herself out of it, and enjoy this camping trip with Jeff. She smiled at him, and asked about S'mores.
"What kind of a camping trip would this be without S'mores?" Jeff smiled as he took some supplies out of his backpack. "Let's get roasting!" He took a marshmalllow out of the bag then throw the bag towards Sarah. She caught it, and put her own marshmallow on her stick. She held it over the fire, watching it slowly begin to brown on the outside. When she deemed it was ready, she headed closer to Jeff to get the graham crackers and chocolate.
"Come on sit down over here." Jeff patted the log next to him. Sarah trembled a bit as she sat down and took the graham crackers and chocolate from Jeff and began constructing her S'more. "You know what else a camping trip isn't complete without?
"What?" Sarah shrugged.
"A ghost story." Jeff made a spooky "Oooh" sound.
Sarah wasn't one for ghost stories but she was alright with Jeff telling one. He was so goofy most of the time she didn't know how seriously she could take him. Of course once Jeff got into telling stories he was pretty good at it. "Alright, you got one to tell?"
Jeff nodded as he started to eat his own S'more. He took bites of it in between the sentences in his story. "It was a dark night, much like this one, with the wind blowing through the trees. There was a couple, much like us OW!" Sarah had hit him on the arm. She didn't really think of them as a couple yet. "What? Well in any case, they were two people on a camping trip who may or may not have been dating. Happy? In any case, this was not an ordinary night. This was the night that it was said that the demon of Black Pond emerges. He is a dreadful sight. Those who have seen him say he doesn't have any skin, he is just a pulsing red color, and he leaves a trail of red behind him wherever he goes. Some say it's sticky like slime, others say it is his own blood. If you touch it, the red slime or blood will paralyze you. Whatever it is, it's not as deadly as the demon himself. He travels through the woods, looking for victims. He is said to eat the souls of anyone he comes across, unless they are the lucky few to escape. After he eats your soul, he drags your body back down into Black Pond, to do terrible things to it."
"What things?"
"I don't know, everyone who was dragged down there was already dead. I can't ask the dead questions. Anyway, so the couple who was camping in the woods had been sitting quietly by their own fire, when suddenly they heard this disgusting dripping sound. Drip, drip, drip. The noise went. It got closer and closer to them. Drip, drip, drip. The girl wanted to go investigate, but drip, drip..."
"AHHHHH!" Sarah screamed as something poked her on the back. Sarah quickly turned around and found that it was Jeff and not some terrible demon behind her. She hit him on the arm again. "That wasn't funny Jeff!"
Jeff stuck out his tongue. Sarah started to giggle. Jeff joined her. They both laughed for some time when Jeff suddenly said, "Did you hear that?"
"Don't joke around Jeff, you aren't going to scare me again." Sarah pouted.
"No...well in any case don't you think we should head to bed now? It is getting kind of late." Jeff said finishing off the last of his S'more. It had taken him a lot longer to eat his than Sarah, since he had been talking the whole time. "And don't worry I'm protect you from any demons we may come across." Jeff smiled.
Jeff headed into the tent, and Sarah nervously followed after. They each had their own sleeping bags in the tent, a little bit apart from each other. Sarah snuggled down into her own sleeping bag. She turned away from Jeff and cuddled down and tried to sleep. "Night Sarah." Jeff said.
"Night Jeff." Sarah said feeling relieved that Jeff hadn't tried to make a move on her or anything. She was scared sometimes that he would want to do more with her, and she was even more scared that he would leave her if she didn't do those kinds of things with him. She knew she was being silly. Jeff knew how shy she was, and he'd wait until she was ready.
Sarah tried to fall asleep, but the nervous energy in her body wouldn't leave. She turned over to look at Jeff. He was facing her with his eyes open as well. "Can't sleep?" he whispered gently.
"Yeah..." Sarah admitted.
"Sorry for telling you that scary story."
"It's ok. That's not why I can't sleep. I just feel nervous. I've never spent the whole night with you before." Sarah felt like her whole body was shaking a bit.
Jeff unzipped the front of his sleeping bag and whispered, "Hey come over here."
Sarah was stunned at Jeff asking her to do such a thing, yet she felt compelled to go closer to him. She went into his sleeping bag, into his waiting arms. She rested her head against his should as he held her. "It's ok Sarah. We can just cuddle. I like being close to you, is all." Jeff's voice whispered directly into her ear, sending chills down her spine.
They held each other for some time, Sarah feeling very comfortable in Jeff's arms, feeling like she had no reasons to be scared. She was just about to drift off into sleep when she heard a noise outside the tent, a sickening, eerie, dripping noise.
Words Total: 35397
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Fleeting Glimpse, part 17
Sarah opened her eyes and found herself in a place she hadn't seen in a long time. It was a garden. She was surrounded by trees with leafs of pink, flowers bordering the trees in all colors of the rainbow. There was a small pond nearby, and within it there was a glimmer of gold fish. Just beyond the pond sat a small table with two chairs, with a tea set on it. Sarah looked from the table to the boy sitting in the chair.
"You are real!" Sarah exclaimed running towards the boy with brown-red hair. She had never been more relieved to be in a dream, and to see Jeff again. Sarah felt tears forming in her eyes as she ran towards him. Now she could get some answers, now she could know the truth.
Jeff stood up and opened his arms wide. Sarah ran into his arms and felt his warm embrace. It felt as real as when she had held his hand in the hospital. "You are real." Sarah cried into his chest, feeling his arms around her. He held onto her arms, but took a step back and examined her for a moment. Before Sarah knew what was happening, his face got closer to hers. She closed her eyes and felt his lips touch upon hers. They stayed like that for a moment, Sarah felt an excitement dance across her whole body. It was her first kiss. Even if it was a dream, it was real to Sarah, and with a real boy. She didn't want it to end, but eventually Jeff pulled away from her.
"Sarah...I was searching for you for so long. I thought you were gone forever. But..." Jeff seemed uncertain how to continue.
"What is it Jeff? What is going on? You are in a coma? What?" Jeff put a finger against her lips to get her to stop talking.
"I...I can't explain it all yet. I'm afraid that it may be too late for you too." Jeff looked sadly at Sarah, his big blue eyes seemed to be looking into the depths of her soul.
"What do you mean?" Sarah felt angry and lost again. She thought that finding Jeff would suddenly answer all her questions. "You know what's going on don't you? Why can't you tell me?"
Jeff stood in silence for a moment, and then he pointed to his left. The trees seemed to part where he pointed, and there was the large dark tower. "There. There I can answer everything for you."
"The tower?" Sarah seemed confused.
"It's all more complicated than you can imagine. And you, well you have quite an imagination Sarah. I wish I could just tell you everything but there is something stopping me. It's in that tower and if we can destroy it I can tell you everything and we can escape from this nightmare." Jeff looked sadly at Sarah again. "First do you remember this place?"
"I..." Sarah stopped and looked around her for a moment, trying to get the memories to come back to her. "This is...this is my secret garden! I remember! Before my dad died, he went on a lot of business trips. He told me that if I thought about this place before I went to sleep, I could meet him here. But then he died, and I came here looking for him, but he wasn't here anymore." Sarah remembered her disappointment in that fact as clear as day. "But then..." Sarah trailed off.
"Yes. We met here as well. You were crying at this table. I remember finding you here and you couldn't even tell me what was wrong. That was almost ten years ago now." Jeff smiled slightly at the memory.
"But what does that have to do with anything?" Sarah asked concerned.
"It really doesn't, but yet it does. I just wanted to know if you remembered the first time we met. But now of course, I'm afraid that you can't leave your dreams anymore."
"WHAT?" Sarah exclaimed full of fear. She tried to wake herself up, but found that she couldn't.
"We are trapped here. That dark tower has a power over us. It is keeping us here. If we can destroy what's in there, well that's the only way we can escape. That dark tower is the answer to everything." Sarah started to cry as Jeff told her all of this. He took her into his arms again. "It's okay Sarah. We have each other. We can do this."
"But what about all my friends in the real world? My mom? If I can't wake up, what will happen to me? What's going on here? I don't understand anything. I'm so confused." Sarah wailed into Jeff's arms.
"Sarah there was something I wanted to tell you, a long time ago but I was too scared. Sarah, I love you. I think I've always loved you. I was happy that all my dreams were with you because that was the only way that I could spend time with you. I love you."
Sarah was shocked at Jeff's sudden confession. She had never felt as close to another guy as she felt to Jeff though. She whispered back to him. "I...I think I love you too."
Jeff smiled. Sarah was happy that she could be with him, but she wanted to be with him in the real world, not in her dreams. She had made up her mind. "Okay, let's go to the tower, let's destroy whatever it is we need to. Let's met back up in the real world so you can tell me everything." Sarah felt confident that she could do whatever was necessary to get back to the real world.
"Alright then! Let's go!" Suddenly the two of them were flying in the air. Sarah wasn't sure how it was happening, and was scared to let go of Jeff, but when she did she found she could fly on her own. They whipped through the air, feeling the wind blow against their skin. The ground was far below them, the secret garden started fading into the distance, and the terrible dark tower loomed ever closer.
"You are real!" Sarah exclaimed running towards the boy with brown-red hair. She had never been more relieved to be in a dream, and to see Jeff again. Sarah felt tears forming in her eyes as she ran towards him. Now she could get some answers, now she could know the truth.
Jeff stood up and opened his arms wide. Sarah ran into his arms and felt his warm embrace. It felt as real as when she had held his hand in the hospital. "You are real." Sarah cried into his chest, feeling his arms around her. He held onto her arms, but took a step back and examined her for a moment. Before Sarah knew what was happening, his face got closer to hers. She closed her eyes and felt his lips touch upon hers. They stayed like that for a moment, Sarah felt an excitement dance across her whole body. It was her first kiss. Even if it was a dream, it was real to Sarah, and with a real boy. She didn't want it to end, but eventually Jeff pulled away from her.
"Sarah...I was searching for you for so long. I thought you were gone forever. But..." Jeff seemed uncertain how to continue.
"What is it Jeff? What is going on? You are in a coma? What?" Jeff put a finger against her lips to get her to stop talking.
"I...I can't explain it all yet. I'm afraid that it may be too late for you too." Jeff looked sadly at Sarah, his big blue eyes seemed to be looking into the depths of her soul.
"What do you mean?" Sarah felt angry and lost again. She thought that finding Jeff would suddenly answer all her questions. "You know what's going on don't you? Why can't you tell me?"
Jeff stood in silence for a moment, and then he pointed to his left. The trees seemed to part where he pointed, and there was the large dark tower. "There. There I can answer everything for you."
"The tower?" Sarah seemed confused.
"It's all more complicated than you can imagine. And you, well you have quite an imagination Sarah. I wish I could just tell you everything but there is something stopping me. It's in that tower and if we can destroy it I can tell you everything and we can escape from this nightmare." Jeff looked sadly at Sarah again. "First do you remember this place?"
"I..." Sarah stopped and looked around her for a moment, trying to get the memories to come back to her. "This is...this is my secret garden! I remember! Before my dad died, he went on a lot of business trips. He told me that if I thought about this place before I went to sleep, I could meet him here. But then he died, and I came here looking for him, but he wasn't here anymore." Sarah remembered her disappointment in that fact as clear as day. "But then..." Sarah trailed off.
"Yes. We met here as well. You were crying at this table. I remember finding you here and you couldn't even tell me what was wrong. That was almost ten years ago now." Jeff smiled slightly at the memory.
"But what does that have to do with anything?" Sarah asked concerned.
"It really doesn't, but yet it does. I just wanted to know if you remembered the first time we met. But now of course, I'm afraid that you can't leave your dreams anymore."
"WHAT?" Sarah exclaimed full of fear. She tried to wake herself up, but found that she couldn't.
"We are trapped here. That dark tower has a power over us. It is keeping us here. If we can destroy what's in there, well that's the only way we can escape. That dark tower is the answer to everything." Sarah started to cry as Jeff told her all of this. He took her into his arms again. "It's okay Sarah. We have each other. We can do this."
"But what about all my friends in the real world? My mom? If I can't wake up, what will happen to me? What's going on here? I don't understand anything. I'm so confused." Sarah wailed into Jeff's arms.
"Sarah there was something I wanted to tell you, a long time ago but I was too scared. Sarah, I love you. I think I've always loved you. I was happy that all my dreams were with you because that was the only way that I could spend time with you. I love you."
Sarah was shocked at Jeff's sudden confession. She had never felt as close to another guy as she felt to Jeff though. She whispered back to him. "I...I think I love you too."
Jeff smiled. Sarah was happy that she could be with him, but she wanted to be with him in the real world, not in her dreams. She had made up her mind. "Okay, let's go to the tower, let's destroy whatever it is we need to. Let's met back up in the real world so you can tell me everything." Sarah felt confident that she could do whatever was necessary to get back to the real world.
"Alright then! Let's go!" Suddenly the two of them were flying in the air. Sarah wasn't sure how it was happening, and was scared to let go of Jeff, but when she did she found she could fly on her own. They whipped through the air, feeling the wind blow against their skin. The ground was far below them, the secret garden started fading into the distance, and the terrible dark tower loomed ever closer.
---
Emily woke up with a terrible feeling in her heart. Her head was still resting on Sarah's chest, but she could hardly hear her heart beat anymore. Emily pushed herself up, trying not to panic. The light was just barely beginning to come up, filtering through the blinds in the windows. She whispered into the dimness "Sarah?" Sarah's body did not move.
Emily quickly started to shake Sarah, the panic in her heart rising up. "Sarah wake up, please wake up!" Sarah still lay almost lifeless in the bed.
Emily started to scream. "Sarah! PLEASE WAKE UP! SARAH!!!"
Tina was woken up by the loud screaming emanating from her daughter's room. She rushed in to see what was the matter, and found Emily hovering over her daughter, shaking her and yelling. She turned to see Tina enter the room, and with tears in her eyes cried out "Sarah won't wake up...she won't wake up."
Snow started to gently fall outside. The coldness seemed to permeate the room, leaving the two awake inhabitants in a storm of their own.
Emily woke up with a terrible feeling in her heart. Her head was still resting on Sarah's chest, but she could hardly hear her heart beat anymore. Emily pushed herself up, trying not to panic. The light was just barely beginning to come up, filtering through the blinds in the windows. She whispered into the dimness "Sarah?" Sarah's body did not move.
Emily quickly started to shake Sarah, the panic in her heart rising up. "Sarah wake up, please wake up!" Sarah still lay almost lifeless in the bed.
Emily started to scream. "Sarah! PLEASE WAKE UP! SARAH!!!"
Tina was woken up by the loud screaming emanating from her daughter's room. She rushed in to see what was the matter, and found Emily hovering over her daughter, shaking her and yelling. She turned to see Tina enter the room, and with tears in her eyes cried out "Sarah won't wake up...she won't wake up."
Snow started to gently fall outside. The coldness seemed to permeate the room, leaving the two awake inhabitants in a storm of their own.
---
Sarah and Jeff arrived at the tower. It was taller than she had remembered in her dreams, and foreboding. It was even more terrifying in person than it had been in her dreams. A black fog surrounded it, and as they got closer to it, it was harder and harder to move. It was as if the black fog was weighing them down. No plants grew near the base of the tower, the ground around it was completely barren. They walked up to it, unable to fly any further.
"Are you sure you want to do this Sarah?" Jeff sounded nervous.
Sarah was scared, yet she knew she really had no other choice. "What else can we do?"
"We can remain here, in this dream forever?" Jeff said with a hearty sigh.
"Well that's not really an option at all? This isn't like the dreams we've had before. This is a nightmare now. We have to escape it Jeff. Don't you want to see you friends and family again?"
Jeff didn't reply. He looked towards the tower and took Sarah's hand. "Okay, let's do this. I don't know exactly what terrors await us inside but we can do it if we have each other." Jeff gave Sarah a kiss on her cheek. Sarah blushed slight at this act. She wasn't used to being so intimate with someone else, but it felt nice all the same. Together they walked forward under the heavy black fog, and reached the door to the tower. They both put their hands on the door, and pushed forward, and into places unknown.
Words this part: 1529
Words total: 32551
Sarah and Jeff arrived at the tower. It was taller than she had remembered in her dreams, and foreboding. It was even more terrifying in person than it had been in her dreams. A black fog surrounded it, and as they got closer to it, it was harder and harder to move. It was as if the black fog was weighing them down. No plants grew near the base of the tower, the ground around it was completely barren. They walked up to it, unable to fly any further.
"Are you sure you want to do this Sarah?" Jeff sounded nervous.
Sarah was scared, yet she knew she really had no other choice. "What else can we do?"
"We can remain here, in this dream forever?" Jeff said with a hearty sigh.
"Well that's not really an option at all? This isn't like the dreams we've had before. This is a nightmare now. We have to escape it Jeff. Don't you want to see you friends and family again?"
Jeff didn't reply. He looked towards the tower and took Sarah's hand. "Okay, let's do this. I don't know exactly what terrors await us inside but we can do it if we have each other." Jeff gave Sarah a kiss on her cheek. Sarah blushed slight at this act. She wasn't used to being so intimate with someone else, but it felt nice all the same. Together they walked forward under the heavy black fog, and reached the door to the tower. They both put their hands on the door, and pushed forward, and into places unknown.
Words this part: 1529
Words total: 32551
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Fleeting Glimpse, part 16
Sarah awoke the next morning to the sweet smell of bacon wafting out from her kitchen. She sat up and saw her mother and Jenn cooking breakfast. Sarah listened to them talk for a moment before getting up.
"She's just so sweet. I don't know how I raised such a good daughter, but I'm glad I did." Tina said happily.
"Yeah! She's a good girl. I'm glad me and Emily were able to meet her. She pretty much the only sane one at our job too." Jenn giggled. Sarah rolled her eyes and thought to herself, 'If they only knew'.
Sarah stretched and got up off the recliner. For the first time in almost a month, she felt well rested, like she had boundless energy. It was still only seven in the morning, they all had plenty of time before they needed to be at work at nine. Sarah gently nudged Emily who was mumbling in her sleep "uhhh rocks aren't frisbees."
Sarah giggled at her friend. "Come on Emily, don't you smell the bacon?"
"BACON?!" Emily was immediately wide awake. She sniffed the air and smiled. "Oh my gosh bacon yes!" Emily bounded out of bed and ran into the kitchen. Sarah followed her with just a bit less energy. The four of them shared a breakfast of bacon and eggs expertly made by Jenn and Tina.
"Wow you are just good at everything." Sarah said to Jenn. "You can cook too!"
"Yeah, I learned from my mom, she's pretty handy in a kitchen. I sometimes have to cook for my brother when she has to work late too."
"I'm awful at cooking." Emily said, taking a bit of a strange sandwich she had made consisting of two fried eggs acting as bread and bacon in the middle. This wasn't working out so well for her as the yolk from the eggs ran down her fingers. "I once burnt water."
The girls laughed as they enjoyed their breakfast. All too soon it was time for them to go to work, and there was a bit of a hassle as they tried to balance out all three of them using the two bathrooms. It all worked out and they left for work on time.
Sarah had decided she had to find out more about Jeff, the real person, not just the one from her dreams. She had a sneaking suspicion and she wanted to check it out as soon as they got out of work. Work passed by quickly, and as Sarah was pulling her bag out of her locker, Jenn walked into the room followed by a skipping Emily. Sarah secretly wondered if Forrest ever got dizzy by the amount of jumping around his mother did.
"Hey Sarah, we are going to Starbucks, do you want to come?" Jenn asked politely.
Sarah was divided, she wanted to go out with her friends, but the weight on her mind about Jeff wouldn't cease until she had some questions answered. "I...I can't today, I'm sorry. There is something I have to do." Sarah shyly looked down at her feet. She still didn't know how to talk about her problems with her friends, but she knew that once she had some answers, it would be easier.
"Oh are you going to see your BOYFRIEND?" Emily gleefully clapped her hands together.
"It's...something like that."
"Go get em tiger!" Emily patted Sarah on the back.
Sarah drove home. The trees were bare and the sky was already growing dark this early in the day. It was cold out, it felt as if snow would soon be there. Autumn's last days were giving way to the chilly fingers of winter.
Sarah went to her computer as soon as she got home. She was a huge ball of nerves, and was trembling a bit as she logged onto her DreamTube account. Now she had three messages waiting for her, and she knew who they were from. She finally clicked on her inbox and saw the messages waiting for her from TimeInABottle.
The first one read: "sarah? did you watch my last video? i wanted you to see it. i hope you get this message."
The second one was even shorter, it simply said "where are you sarah? i can't find you anymore."
Sarah was scared to click on the last one, it had been sent only the day before. "i don't want to be awake anymore. i just want to sleep forever. maybe then i can find you again. -jeff."
Sarah stared at the last message for a long time, her heartbeat racing and a feeling like her throat was closing up. The message was depressing, and the name that was signed. It was Jeff. It had been him all along. He was real. But now it looked like he had given up hope. Sarah clicked onto his channel page. TimeInABottle, or, Sarah thought, Jeff, had been uploading videos daily, and without fail. From the shot that showed in each videos preview, Sarah knew it was from the very same city she had been seeing in her own dreams. There was one video missing, the one from today. Sarah feared that she might be too late. She quickly went to google and searched for "Jeff Durham." A search result appeared, and not one that Sarah had expected to see.
Sarah quickly pulled out her phone. She wouldn't have to face this alone. She reached Emily and quickly said, "Please Emily you have to meet me at Middlesex hospital."
Sarah didn't like hospitals. They were cold, sterile, impersonal places. Places that housed the sick, injured, and dying. It was a terrible place. Sarah didn't want to be here, but she had no other choice. She had to know the truth.
Sarah paced around the entrance way waiting for her friends to arrive. She didn't have to wait long, as she saw them running through the doors. "Sarah, what's wrong? Emily wouldn't tell me anything." Jenn panting, trying to catch her breath after running.
"No Sarah didn't tell me either. What happened?" Emily wasn't out of breath, but was bouncing nervously up and down.
"I...it's...just come with me please." Sarah pleaded, feeling tears forming at the back of her eyes.
They walked up to a information desk, and Sarah asked which room Jeff Durham was in. She heard Emily whispering to Jenn behind her, "Her boyfriend?" The nurse directed them which way to go, warning them that visiting hours were nearly over, and Sarah silently went off, Emily and Jenn trailing behind.
A door stood in front of Sarah. She was afraid to enter it, afraid of what was on the other side. She remembered the new artcile she had read online. It stated that an 18 year old young man had fallen asleep at a local diner and couldn't be woken up. That the young man had to be rushed to this hospital. That his name was Jeffery Durham. Sarah took a deep breath and entered the room.
In the bed lay a boy with reddish brown hair, the same color Sarah remembered. She carefully went over all his features, noticing them, recalling them from her dreams. She was sure if his eyes were open, they'd be the same blue she remembered, the same blue color she had chosen to paint her nails the night before without realizing it. She walked over to him, and the world seemed to slow down. He was real. Jeff was real. He wasn't just a dream. Sarah gently took his hand, feeling it for real for the first time. It felt just as it had in her dreams. The tears she had been holding back for so long began to pour down her face. Now that she had met the boy that she had spent so much time with in her dreams, it was too late. She couldn't talk to him, couldn't ask him questions. She had so many questions.
"What happened to him?" Jenn asked, but Sarah was spared answering when another person entered the room.
"He's in a coma, we don't know the cause yet." The man in scrubs answered. "Are you his friends?"
Sarah nodded meekly, slowly letting go of Jeff's hand. She asked "Will he wake up again?"
"We don't know that yet. We won't know until we can find what caused his condition. I'm glad you girls came, he hasn't had any visitors yet." The doctor looked at them sympathetically. "But visiting hours are over now, so you'll have to leave."
The girls filed out of the room. Emily hugged Sarah as the exited the room. "Sarah I'm sorry. I guess we are all having a terrible week."
Sarah sighed, not quite knowing what emotions she should be feeling. "It's ok. It's hard for me to explain right now, but Jeff isn't exactly my boyfriend. He's been my friend for a long time. I just feel sick right now." They had reached an exit with some chair nearby. Sarah sank down into one and started sobbing again. She wasn't sure why she was crying, but she just felt so entirely exhausted. Everything that had happened in her life, everything that had happened in her dreams, the whole world, everything was crashing down around her.
Her friends sat down beside her, both of them hugging her. Sarah felt as if she was going to be okay. She had two good friends at her sides, and even though they both had their own serious problems, they were helping her in her own time of need. She just wished she could find the words to explain to them what was really going on.
"Let's go home Emily, I'm just feeling really tired. I need some rest." Emily agreed, and they all left in their own cars. Sarah drove home, realizing that Emily had her car back now. Jenn must've taken her to her old apartment to pick it up. Sarah had forgotten all about that, and she was glad Jenn had helped Emily out. It must've been hard for her to go back there. At some point they'd all have to go back there and pick up the rest of Emily's things, especially all the baby things for Forrest. Sarah was so tired as she drove home.
That's when it hit her like a ton of bricks. She couldn't talk to Jeff in this world, the waking world. But what about her dreams. He had said that he was trying to find her in dreams. Sarah wanted to dream again, back in that same place she had dreamed about her whole life. She wanted to go there. She wanted to see Jeff again.
When she got home Emily was already there. "Are you gonna be ok Sarah?" Emily asked. "Your not boyfriend will wake up again, I know it." Emily tried to comfort Sarah. Sarah smiled at her.
"Thank you Emily. We've been through quite a week haven't we."
"Mmhmm!" Emily agreed.
"I just want to lay down if that's ok. I am so tired." Sarah went up to her bedroom with Emily trailing behind. She quickly changed her pajamas, put her dreamsight onto her head, and climbed into bed. Emily climbed in with her.
"I don't want you to have to be alone right now." Emily explained. Sarah lay in bed, with Emily's head on her shoulder, one of her arms wrapped around Sarah, and her stomach gently pushing into Sarah's side. Sarah felt comforted, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Words this part: 1988
Words Total 31022
"She's just so sweet. I don't know how I raised such a good daughter, but I'm glad I did." Tina said happily.
"Yeah! She's a good girl. I'm glad me and Emily were able to meet her. She pretty much the only sane one at our job too." Jenn giggled. Sarah rolled her eyes and thought to herself, 'If they only knew'.
Sarah stretched and got up off the recliner. For the first time in almost a month, she felt well rested, like she had boundless energy. It was still only seven in the morning, they all had plenty of time before they needed to be at work at nine. Sarah gently nudged Emily who was mumbling in her sleep "uhhh rocks aren't frisbees."
Sarah giggled at her friend. "Come on Emily, don't you smell the bacon?"
"BACON?!" Emily was immediately wide awake. She sniffed the air and smiled. "Oh my gosh bacon yes!" Emily bounded out of bed and ran into the kitchen. Sarah followed her with just a bit less energy. The four of them shared a breakfast of bacon and eggs expertly made by Jenn and Tina.
"Wow you are just good at everything." Sarah said to Jenn. "You can cook too!"
"Yeah, I learned from my mom, she's pretty handy in a kitchen. I sometimes have to cook for my brother when she has to work late too."
"I'm awful at cooking." Emily said, taking a bit of a strange sandwich she had made consisting of two fried eggs acting as bread and bacon in the middle. This wasn't working out so well for her as the yolk from the eggs ran down her fingers. "I once burnt water."
The girls laughed as they enjoyed their breakfast. All too soon it was time for them to go to work, and there was a bit of a hassle as they tried to balance out all three of them using the two bathrooms. It all worked out and they left for work on time.
Sarah had decided she had to find out more about Jeff, the real person, not just the one from her dreams. She had a sneaking suspicion and she wanted to check it out as soon as they got out of work. Work passed by quickly, and as Sarah was pulling her bag out of her locker, Jenn walked into the room followed by a skipping Emily. Sarah secretly wondered if Forrest ever got dizzy by the amount of jumping around his mother did.
"Hey Sarah, we are going to Starbucks, do you want to come?" Jenn asked politely.
Sarah was divided, she wanted to go out with her friends, but the weight on her mind about Jeff wouldn't cease until she had some questions answered. "I...I can't today, I'm sorry. There is something I have to do." Sarah shyly looked down at her feet. She still didn't know how to talk about her problems with her friends, but she knew that once she had some answers, it would be easier.
"Oh are you going to see your BOYFRIEND?" Emily gleefully clapped her hands together.
"It's...something like that."
"Go get em tiger!" Emily patted Sarah on the back.
Sarah drove home. The trees were bare and the sky was already growing dark this early in the day. It was cold out, it felt as if snow would soon be there. Autumn's last days were giving way to the chilly fingers of winter.
Sarah went to her computer as soon as she got home. She was a huge ball of nerves, and was trembling a bit as she logged onto her DreamTube account. Now she had three messages waiting for her, and she knew who they were from. She finally clicked on her inbox and saw the messages waiting for her from TimeInABottle.
The first one read: "sarah? did you watch my last video? i wanted you to see it. i hope you get this message."
The second one was even shorter, it simply said "where are you sarah? i can't find you anymore."
Sarah was scared to click on the last one, it had been sent only the day before. "i don't want to be awake anymore. i just want to sleep forever. maybe then i can find you again. -jeff."
Sarah stared at the last message for a long time, her heartbeat racing and a feeling like her throat was closing up. The message was depressing, and the name that was signed. It was Jeff. It had been him all along. He was real. But now it looked like he had given up hope. Sarah clicked onto his channel page. TimeInABottle, or, Sarah thought, Jeff, had been uploading videos daily, and without fail. From the shot that showed in each videos preview, Sarah knew it was from the very same city she had been seeing in her own dreams. There was one video missing, the one from today. Sarah feared that she might be too late. She quickly went to google and searched for "Jeff Durham." A search result appeared, and not one that Sarah had expected to see.
Sarah quickly pulled out her phone. She wouldn't have to face this alone. She reached Emily and quickly said, "Please Emily you have to meet me at Middlesex hospital."
Sarah didn't like hospitals. They were cold, sterile, impersonal places. Places that housed the sick, injured, and dying. It was a terrible place. Sarah didn't want to be here, but she had no other choice. She had to know the truth.
Sarah paced around the entrance way waiting for her friends to arrive. She didn't have to wait long, as she saw them running through the doors. "Sarah, what's wrong? Emily wouldn't tell me anything." Jenn panting, trying to catch her breath after running.
"No Sarah didn't tell me either. What happened?" Emily wasn't out of breath, but was bouncing nervously up and down.
"I...it's...just come with me please." Sarah pleaded, feeling tears forming at the back of her eyes.
They walked up to a information desk, and Sarah asked which room Jeff Durham was in. She heard Emily whispering to Jenn behind her, "Her boyfriend?" The nurse directed them which way to go, warning them that visiting hours were nearly over, and Sarah silently went off, Emily and Jenn trailing behind.
A door stood in front of Sarah. She was afraid to enter it, afraid of what was on the other side. She remembered the new artcile she had read online. It stated that an 18 year old young man had fallen asleep at a local diner and couldn't be woken up. That the young man had to be rushed to this hospital. That his name was Jeffery Durham. Sarah took a deep breath and entered the room.
In the bed lay a boy with reddish brown hair, the same color Sarah remembered. She carefully went over all his features, noticing them, recalling them from her dreams. She was sure if his eyes were open, they'd be the same blue she remembered, the same blue color she had chosen to paint her nails the night before without realizing it. She walked over to him, and the world seemed to slow down. He was real. Jeff was real. He wasn't just a dream. Sarah gently took his hand, feeling it for real for the first time. It felt just as it had in her dreams. The tears she had been holding back for so long began to pour down her face. Now that she had met the boy that she had spent so much time with in her dreams, it was too late. She couldn't talk to him, couldn't ask him questions. She had so many questions.
"What happened to him?" Jenn asked, but Sarah was spared answering when another person entered the room.
"He's in a coma, we don't know the cause yet." The man in scrubs answered. "Are you his friends?"
Sarah nodded meekly, slowly letting go of Jeff's hand. She asked "Will he wake up again?"
"We don't know that yet. We won't know until we can find what caused his condition. I'm glad you girls came, he hasn't had any visitors yet." The doctor looked at them sympathetically. "But visiting hours are over now, so you'll have to leave."
The girls filed out of the room. Emily hugged Sarah as the exited the room. "Sarah I'm sorry. I guess we are all having a terrible week."
Sarah sighed, not quite knowing what emotions she should be feeling. "It's ok. It's hard for me to explain right now, but Jeff isn't exactly my boyfriend. He's been my friend for a long time. I just feel sick right now." They had reached an exit with some chair nearby. Sarah sank down into one and started sobbing again. She wasn't sure why she was crying, but she just felt so entirely exhausted. Everything that had happened in her life, everything that had happened in her dreams, the whole world, everything was crashing down around her.
Her friends sat down beside her, both of them hugging her. Sarah felt as if she was going to be okay. She had two good friends at her sides, and even though they both had their own serious problems, they were helping her in her own time of need. She just wished she could find the words to explain to them what was really going on.
"Let's go home Emily, I'm just feeling really tired. I need some rest." Emily agreed, and they all left in their own cars. Sarah drove home, realizing that Emily had her car back now. Jenn must've taken her to her old apartment to pick it up. Sarah had forgotten all about that, and she was glad Jenn had helped Emily out. It must've been hard for her to go back there. At some point they'd all have to go back there and pick up the rest of Emily's things, especially all the baby things for Forrest. Sarah was so tired as she drove home.
That's when it hit her like a ton of bricks. She couldn't talk to Jeff in this world, the waking world. But what about her dreams. He had said that he was trying to find her in dreams. Sarah wanted to dream again, back in that same place she had dreamed about her whole life. She wanted to go there. She wanted to see Jeff again.
When she got home Emily was already there. "Are you gonna be ok Sarah?" Emily asked. "Your not boyfriend will wake up again, I know it." Emily tried to comfort Sarah. Sarah smiled at her.
"Thank you Emily. We've been through quite a week haven't we."
"Mmhmm!" Emily agreed.
"I just want to lay down if that's ok. I am so tired." Sarah went up to her bedroom with Emily trailing behind. She quickly changed her pajamas, put her dreamsight onto her head, and climbed into bed. Emily climbed in with her.
"I don't want you to have to be alone right now." Emily explained. Sarah lay in bed, with Emily's head on her shoulder, one of her arms wrapped around Sarah, and her stomach gently pushing into Sarah's side. Sarah felt comforted, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Words this part: 1988
Words Total 31022
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Fleeting Glimpse, part 15
Sarah rushed to the bathroom and quickly tried to make herself persentable before she ran out the door to help Emily. Her hair had started to curl back up again, and the make-up Emily had put on her face the day before was smeared down her face. Sarah quickly splashed her face with some water and washed the make-up off her face. She pull a brush through her hair and ran out the door.
Sarah drove quickly to the apartment Sarah and Joey had shared. She knew Emily was probably very scared and nervous. Sarah knew that Emily loved Joey and she was going to do whatever she needed to do to help them get back together. She wanted Emily to be happy, yet somehow in the back of her mind, she felt a bit sad. The last couple of days had been amazing, and she didn't want Emily to leave yet. But her friend's happiness came first, over her her own selfishness.
Sarah drove to the apartment, and she had forgotten the numbness she had felt all day. Now she was focused on Emily and Emily alone. It felt like an emergency, even though it really wasn't. She didn't want Joey to leave before they could talk to him, or have Emily face Joey alone. She drove faster than she had ever driven before. She wanted to help fix this.
Sarah pulled into a parking space next to Emily's car. Emily was in her car still, looking up towards her apartment. Sarah knocked on her window, and Emily jumped, looking around with a shocked expression on her face. Emily opened the door and quickly sprung out and hugged Sarah. "I'm so glad you are here. I didn't want to talk to him alone. I'm scared. I don't know what he'll so or what he'll do. What if he doesn't want me anymore?" Emily's lip quivered.
"Don't worry Em, I'm here for you. We'll do this together." Sarah took Emily's hand and lead her up to the apartment door. They climbed the stairs to the apartment Emily and Joey shared, and with in a bout of nervous energy, Sarah forcefully knocked on the door.
"I'm coming," came a grumpy voice from inside. The door opened and Joey was standing before them. He looked at the two girls standing there, and for a second he didn't say anything. The silence seemed to be a palpable force between them all. Then at long last Joey said, almost indifferently, "Emily."
"Joey, I..." Emily trailed off. Sarah squeezed her hand to comfort her. "Joey can we come in? I want to talk."
Joey backed up a few feet to let them inside. Sarah looked around the apartment, it was cramped and tiny. Joey shut the door behind them and muttered out "What?"
"Well you see...I well..." Emily seemed unable to say the things she wanted to say. Joey looked on, with an expression Sarah could only describe as disgusted. Sarah's heart began to pound faster and faster. Could Joey really still be mad about Emily turning off his video game? It didn't seem like such a serious thing. Was there something else going on that Emily hadn't told her about?
"Joey, do you think we can work this out?" Emily finally managed to say, her eyes getting teary again.
"I don't see how!" Joey's expression turned from disgust to anger. "You always have to have YOUR way. If it's not your way then it's nothing. I can't take it anymore!" Joey throw his hand up in the air.
"I'm sorry Joey. I won't have things my way anymore. Please forgive me." Emily looked so unlike herself at that moment. Sarah didn't like this, any of this. It all felt so wrong.
"Um Emily, you don't have to say that." Sarah blurted out before she knew what she was saying. "This is a relationship right? Don't you both have to make sacrifices for each other sometimes? You can have your ways sometimes..." Sarah's sentence petered out, her shyness getting the better of her again. It didn't seem to matter, Joey and Emily didn't seem to hear her anyway.
"HA! That's unlikely Emily. You are so demanding all the time." Joey lashed out.
"I'm sorry Joey...I love you..." Emily seemed to be less and less sure of herself all the time. "Joey you have always been there for me, even when I got pregnant and my parent's disowned me. You were there for me. I just want us to be together. For our baby."
"You know what Emily?" Joey started to move closer to the two girls. "You ruined my LIFE. You think I wanted to have this baby now? You think I didn't want to do other things? No now I have to give up everything for you BABY."
Emily started to break down crying. "But Joey I..."
Joey sneered angrily, "I am so tired of your BULLSHIT." Joey raised a hand as if to slap Emily, but something inside Sarah broke and in an instant of movement she let go of Emily's hand and grabbed Joey's hand an instant before it made contact with Emily's face.
"What the HELL!" Sarah screamed. "Who do you think you are? Were you going to HIT HER? What the FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Sarah seethed. Sarah had never been so angry with another human being in her whole life. "You don't deserve to be with Emily. Emily we are leaving RIGHT NOW!"
Sarah grabbed Emily's hand and stormed out of the apartment, her heart beating so fast in her chest it felt that it would leap out of her throat. Emily was sobbing silently as Sarah pulled her out the front door. Joey hadn't even tried to stop them, to say he was sorry, to do anything. Sarah couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that Emily had ever wanted to go back to such a terrible man. Sarah couldn't help but to ask, "Has he hit you before Emily?"
"I..."Emily's tears poured down her face. They said all the things Emily could not.
"Oh that son of a BITCH." Sarah was sure she had never sworn this much in her entire life. "You are not going back there. Not ever. You can't. I won't let him hurt you anymore." She put her arms around Emily. "I won't let him hurt Forrest either."
"Sarah" Emily managed to say through her tears. "Thank you."
"Oh Em." Sarah released the hug and smiled down at her small friend. "I would do anything for you. Come on let's go home."
"Ok."
Sarah put Emily in her own car, knowing that Emily was probably too stressed out to drive for herself. Sarah had no idea that Joey had been treating Emily like this. If she had known she would've done something far sooner, but Emily hadn't said a word. Emily had always seemed so happy and cheerful. Sarah felt a bit of guilt at not realizing her friend was in such a bad position, but quickly dismissed those feelings. She hadn't even known Emily that long, only a few weeks. She couldn't possibly be expected to know. The street lights started coming on as they drove back. Emily stared up at them, no longer crying, but not saying anything either. Sarah knew she just had to give Emily some time. Emily had loved Joey, even if he had treated her like crap. It would take a long time for her to recover from this broken heart.
They got home and Emily slouched down on the couch, much like Sarah had done the entire day. Sarah went into the kitchen to make her a cup of tea. She also texted Jenn while she was in there, explaining quickly what had happened and that Jenn should come over after work to have a sleep over with them. Sarah thought it would be best if Emily was surrounded by all her friends tonight. Jenn was closing at the store tonight, and wouldn't be out until after nine, but that was okay with Sarah. As long as she would be there.
Tina came home to find a depressed looking Emily on her couch, with Sarah's arms around her. "Is everything ok?"
"Ma, we need to talk about Emily staying her more permanently?" This wasn't Sarah's house, even though now that she had a job she helped pay the rent. She wanted her mother to be alright with this, and accept Emily into their house, at least for now.
"Of course she can!" Tina smiled. She remembered when she was younger, and her own mother doing much the same thing for one of her brother's friends. It seemed it was in her family, in her blood, to help out all the children around her, even if they weren't her own. "Emily don't even worry about it. You can have the spare room we haven't been using. Everything will be alright." Tina sat down next to Emily and hugged her as well.
"Thanks Mom." Emily said, sounding a bit more happy.
"Sarah, come with me to the kitchen, let's make some dinner for us." Sarah followed her mother into the kitchen.
"Ma, is it ok if Jenn spends the night here tonight too?" Sarah asked nervously, afraid she might be asking for too much.
"Not a problem. But what happened?" Tina said, concerned.
"Her boyfriend, he...he's just awful. Emily tried to make up with him today, and he just yelled at her. He...he....he tried to hit her!" Sarah felt the anger in her heart welling up again.
Tina felt a similar angry in her own heart. "Emily can't go back there! She should get a restraining order! I can't believe it! She always talked so fondly of him." Tina almost wanted to cry. She felt so bad for Emily, the poor girl seemed to have gone through so much. Now Tina wanted to protect her, mother her.
"Don't worry Ma, I won't let her. She still loves him, but he's doesn't deserve someone as sweet as Emily in his life!" Sarah said repeating what she had said to Joey earlier. "Emily is much better off here."
Tina agreed, and started to make dinner. They didn't have leftovers again, instead they had some fish sticks and french fries. They fixed a plate for Emily, with way more food than the both of them combined, and they all sat in the living room and ate dinner. After dinner they all sat and watched some television. Occasionally Emily would begin to cry silently to herself, but Sarah was quickly there to offer her a tissue and a hug.
Around 9:45, Jenn showed up, carrying a sleeping bag and a backpack. She ran over to Emily and hugged her. Emily looked surprised at her arrival, Sarah hadn't told her that she was coming. "Jenn?"
"Guess what Emily?" Jenn told her. "We are having a sleepover tonight." Jenn tried to smile in a comforting way.
"Oh?" Emily said, a sight grin starting to form at the edges of her lips.
"Oh yes, and I brought some nail polish so we can paint each other's nails, and a scary movie to watch! And of course some popcorn." Jenn said, taking items out of her backpack and putting them on the coffee table.
Emily leaned forward and started to look at the different colors of nail polish. There was a startling neon pink one, and Emily picked it up and examined it for a moment. "Oh yes I want this one!"
"Alright!" Jenn smiled happily. "I want this blue one, which one do you want Sarah?"
Sarah pondered over the colors. She had never had a sleepover before, and she had certainly never done girly things like paint her nails before. She picked out a rather demure looking blue color.
"Alright! I'll paint your nails first Emily." Jenn held Emily's hand gently and masterfully started painting her nails the bright happy pink.
Sarah looked on with awe at how easily she painted Emily's nails, not getting a bit of color on her skin. "You are good at that!"
"Oh well I practiced a lot on my brother, when he was going through a phase and wanted black nails all the time." Jenn giggled.
After she was done, Sarah felt like she should try out her own skills. She asked, "Can I paint your nails Jenn?"
Sarah was awful at painting Jenn's nails, she was sloppy and put the coat of polish on way too thick. Jenn giggled and told her to just take her time, and to make sure there wasn't too much polish on the brush before she started. By Jenn's second hand Sarah had gotten better, and was slightly proud of herself.
Emily's nails had dried and she took it upon herself to paint Sarah's nails. She gently took Sarah's hands and painted the so quickly that Sarah barely had time to realize what was going on. She looked down at her nails, they glittered slightly in the light. Sarah thought they looked pretty, and that she should perhaps buy some of her own nail polish to do this again.
The girls chatted amoungst themselves and Sarah and Jenn waited for the polish to dry.
"My dad's getting married." Jenn said suddenly.
"What?!" Emily and Sarah both said at the same time.
"Yup. He called me today. He's gonna marry his new girlfriend. And you know what else? She's pregnant!" Jenn looked a bit happy, but also a bit confused.
"Oh wow!" Emily exclaimed. "You are gonna be a big sister again."
"Yeah. But I dunno. I'm happy for him, but I'm just starting to get to know him again. Is he trying to replace the family he abandoned for another one?" Jenn looked down sadly.
"I don't think so." Sarah said quietly. "If he wanted to replace you, he wouldn't have tried to get back in contact with you in the first place. He wants you and your brother in his family."
Jenn smiled slightly. "You always make me feel better Sarah. I always have these doubts, but you make them go away. He told me on Thanksgiving that he always regretting leaving me and my brother. He missed out on so much of our lives. He just couldn't be with my mom anymore. He wants to do anything he can to make it up to us. I don't know what he can do, but it's felt nice to hear him say it."
"Can we meet your daddy and his girlfriend?" Emily smiled brightly for the first time all day. "When she has her baby Forrest can play with them!"
Jenn laughed a bit. "Of course you guys can. He's been saying he wants to meet my friends."
"Oh and Sarah can bring her BOYFRIEND." Emily laughed out. Jenn looked towards Sarah with shock, and Sarah felt just as shocked. She had almost forgotten the events of the night before with everything else that happened today.
"You have a boyfriend?" Jenn's eyes were wide.
"I um...errrr...you see..." Sarah couldn't find the words to say what she wanted to say. In fact she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to say in the first place.
"Aww you are so shy Sarah. You can tell us about him when you are ready." Jenn smiled. Sarah smiled back, relieved for the out. She started to feel the feelings of doubt and confusion sink back into her brain, but she shook them out. Now wasn't the time to have her own pity party, tonight she had to be there for Emily.
"Can we watch that movie now? I heard it's really good. It's about these kids and they are being stalked by something that they can't even begin to comprehend! A faceless monster that won't stop until it gets what it wants. THE TERROR! Also I think there is a doggy somewhere in there." Emily picked up the movie, and smiled. "It is probably the BEST MOVIE EVER!"
Sarah went to make popcorn as the trailers played. She put it in a big bowl so they could all share, and thought to herself that Emily would probably be eating most of it anyway. The three girls snuggled together on the couch and watched the movie. It was pretty scary, and at one point Emily jumped up and ran behind the couch to hide in her fear. Jenn had to coax her back out by offering her a candy bar. Finally the movie ended on a bit of cliffhanger with none of the questions about the monster really answered. It was past midnight by that point, so the girls decided to go to bed, since they were all working the night shift in the morning.
Jenn rolled out her sleeping bag, while Emily took the couch and Sarah got some blankets and took a recliner. The other two girls seemed to fall asleep quickly, but now in the dark and quiet, Sarah was left alone to her own thoughts again. Yesterday seemed like a dream to her now, but she still felt a strange feeling in her heart, a numb feeling of worry and fear. She was still afraid to fall asleep when all of a sudden a quiet voice popped up next to her.
"Sarah..." Emily had somehow noiselessly snuck up next to the recliner she was snuggled in. "Hey Sarah!" Emily said a bit louder now.
"Wha?" Sarah mumbled, lost in her thoughts but now coming back to reality.
"I just wanted to thank you again for today. I was lost but you made me see what a jerk Joey was being. I was afraid to leave him. Afraid to be on my own." Sarah sat up in her chair, and Emily sat down on the arm of the chair facing away from Sarah. "Now I know that I can do this on my own, I can raise Forrest on my own. Because I won't really be on my own!" Emily swivel around on the arm of the recliner to face Sarah. "I have your mom. I have Jenn. Most of all, I have you." Emily reached out and hugged Sarah. Sarah put her arms around Emily. "Sarah you are the bestest. I love you!"
"Aww, I love you too Em." Sarah smiled. Emily let go of Sarah and got back off the arm of the chair. "We should go to sleep now though, we have work in the morning." Emily quietly snuck away back to the couch.
Sarah thought for awhile about what Emily said. She too, had been afraid of being alone. Now Sarah realized she didn't have to go through her own problems alone. She had the support of her friends. Together, maybe, they could all figure out what was going on. Sarah smiled, and fell asleep, and for the first time in her life, she had no dreams.
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Words total according to goggle docs: 29034
Sarah drove quickly to the apartment Sarah and Joey had shared. She knew Emily was probably very scared and nervous. Sarah knew that Emily loved Joey and she was going to do whatever she needed to do to help them get back together. She wanted Emily to be happy, yet somehow in the back of her mind, she felt a bit sad. The last couple of days had been amazing, and she didn't want Emily to leave yet. But her friend's happiness came first, over her her own selfishness.
Sarah drove to the apartment, and she had forgotten the numbness she had felt all day. Now she was focused on Emily and Emily alone. It felt like an emergency, even though it really wasn't. She didn't want Joey to leave before they could talk to him, or have Emily face Joey alone. She drove faster than she had ever driven before. She wanted to help fix this.
Sarah pulled into a parking space next to Emily's car. Emily was in her car still, looking up towards her apartment. Sarah knocked on her window, and Emily jumped, looking around with a shocked expression on her face. Emily opened the door and quickly sprung out and hugged Sarah. "I'm so glad you are here. I didn't want to talk to him alone. I'm scared. I don't know what he'll so or what he'll do. What if he doesn't want me anymore?" Emily's lip quivered.
"Don't worry Em, I'm here for you. We'll do this together." Sarah took Emily's hand and lead her up to the apartment door. They climbed the stairs to the apartment Emily and Joey shared, and with in a bout of nervous energy, Sarah forcefully knocked on the door.
"I'm coming," came a grumpy voice from inside. The door opened and Joey was standing before them. He looked at the two girls standing there, and for a second he didn't say anything. The silence seemed to be a palpable force between them all. Then at long last Joey said, almost indifferently, "Emily."
"Joey, I..." Emily trailed off. Sarah squeezed her hand to comfort her. "Joey can we come in? I want to talk."
Joey backed up a few feet to let them inside. Sarah looked around the apartment, it was cramped and tiny. Joey shut the door behind them and muttered out "What?"
"Well you see...I well..." Emily seemed unable to say the things she wanted to say. Joey looked on, with an expression Sarah could only describe as disgusted. Sarah's heart began to pound faster and faster. Could Joey really still be mad about Emily turning off his video game? It didn't seem like such a serious thing. Was there something else going on that Emily hadn't told her about?
"Joey, do you think we can work this out?" Emily finally managed to say, her eyes getting teary again.
"I don't see how!" Joey's expression turned from disgust to anger. "You always have to have YOUR way. If it's not your way then it's nothing. I can't take it anymore!" Joey throw his hand up in the air.
"I'm sorry Joey. I won't have things my way anymore. Please forgive me." Emily looked so unlike herself at that moment. Sarah didn't like this, any of this. It all felt so wrong.
"Um Emily, you don't have to say that." Sarah blurted out before she knew what she was saying. "This is a relationship right? Don't you both have to make sacrifices for each other sometimes? You can have your ways sometimes..." Sarah's sentence petered out, her shyness getting the better of her again. It didn't seem to matter, Joey and Emily didn't seem to hear her anyway.
"HA! That's unlikely Emily. You are so demanding all the time." Joey lashed out.
"I'm sorry Joey...I love you..." Emily seemed to be less and less sure of herself all the time. "Joey you have always been there for me, even when I got pregnant and my parent's disowned me. You were there for me. I just want us to be together. For our baby."
"You know what Emily?" Joey started to move closer to the two girls. "You ruined my LIFE. You think I wanted to have this baby now? You think I didn't want to do other things? No now I have to give up everything for you BABY."
Emily started to break down crying. "But Joey I..."
Joey sneered angrily, "I am so tired of your BULLSHIT." Joey raised a hand as if to slap Emily, but something inside Sarah broke and in an instant of movement she let go of Emily's hand and grabbed Joey's hand an instant before it made contact with Emily's face.
"What the HELL!" Sarah screamed. "Who do you think you are? Were you going to HIT HER? What the FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Sarah seethed. Sarah had never been so angry with another human being in her whole life. "You don't deserve to be with Emily. Emily we are leaving RIGHT NOW!"
Sarah grabbed Emily's hand and stormed out of the apartment, her heart beating so fast in her chest it felt that it would leap out of her throat. Emily was sobbing silently as Sarah pulled her out the front door. Joey hadn't even tried to stop them, to say he was sorry, to do anything. Sarah couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that Emily had ever wanted to go back to such a terrible man. Sarah couldn't help but to ask, "Has he hit you before Emily?"
"I..."Emily's tears poured down her face. They said all the things Emily could not.
"Oh that son of a BITCH." Sarah was sure she had never sworn this much in her entire life. "You are not going back there. Not ever. You can't. I won't let him hurt you anymore." She put her arms around Emily. "I won't let him hurt Forrest either."
"Sarah" Emily managed to say through her tears. "Thank you."
"Oh Em." Sarah released the hug and smiled down at her small friend. "I would do anything for you. Come on let's go home."
"Ok."
Sarah put Emily in her own car, knowing that Emily was probably too stressed out to drive for herself. Sarah had no idea that Joey had been treating Emily like this. If she had known she would've done something far sooner, but Emily hadn't said a word. Emily had always seemed so happy and cheerful. Sarah felt a bit of guilt at not realizing her friend was in such a bad position, but quickly dismissed those feelings. She hadn't even known Emily that long, only a few weeks. She couldn't possibly be expected to know. The street lights started coming on as they drove back. Emily stared up at them, no longer crying, but not saying anything either. Sarah knew she just had to give Emily some time. Emily had loved Joey, even if he had treated her like crap. It would take a long time for her to recover from this broken heart.
They got home and Emily slouched down on the couch, much like Sarah had done the entire day. Sarah went into the kitchen to make her a cup of tea. She also texted Jenn while she was in there, explaining quickly what had happened and that Jenn should come over after work to have a sleep over with them. Sarah thought it would be best if Emily was surrounded by all her friends tonight. Jenn was closing at the store tonight, and wouldn't be out until after nine, but that was okay with Sarah. As long as she would be there.
Tina came home to find a depressed looking Emily on her couch, with Sarah's arms around her. "Is everything ok?"
"Ma, we need to talk about Emily staying her more permanently?" This wasn't Sarah's house, even though now that she had a job she helped pay the rent. She wanted her mother to be alright with this, and accept Emily into their house, at least for now.
"Of course she can!" Tina smiled. She remembered when she was younger, and her own mother doing much the same thing for one of her brother's friends. It seemed it was in her family, in her blood, to help out all the children around her, even if they weren't her own. "Emily don't even worry about it. You can have the spare room we haven't been using. Everything will be alright." Tina sat down next to Emily and hugged her as well.
"Thanks Mom." Emily said, sounding a bit more happy.
"Sarah, come with me to the kitchen, let's make some dinner for us." Sarah followed her mother into the kitchen.
"Ma, is it ok if Jenn spends the night here tonight too?" Sarah asked nervously, afraid she might be asking for too much.
"Not a problem. But what happened?" Tina said, concerned.
"Her boyfriend, he...he's just awful. Emily tried to make up with him today, and he just yelled at her. He...he....he tried to hit her!" Sarah felt the anger in her heart welling up again.
Tina felt a similar angry in her own heart. "Emily can't go back there! She should get a restraining order! I can't believe it! She always talked so fondly of him." Tina almost wanted to cry. She felt so bad for Emily, the poor girl seemed to have gone through so much. Now Tina wanted to protect her, mother her.
"Don't worry Ma, I won't let her. She still loves him, but he's doesn't deserve someone as sweet as Emily in his life!" Sarah said repeating what she had said to Joey earlier. "Emily is much better off here."
Tina agreed, and started to make dinner. They didn't have leftovers again, instead they had some fish sticks and french fries. They fixed a plate for Emily, with way more food than the both of them combined, and they all sat in the living room and ate dinner. After dinner they all sat and watched some television. Occasionally Emily would begin to cry silently to herself, but Sarah was quickly there to offer her a tissue and a hug.
Around 9:45, Jenn showed up, carrying a sleeping bag and a backpack. She ran over to Emily and hugged her. Emily looked surprised at her arrival, Sarah hadn't told her that she was coming. "Jenn?"
"Guess what Emily?" Jenn told her. "We are having a sleepover tonight." Jenn tried to smile in a comforting way.
"Oh?" Emily said, a sight grin starting to form at the edges of her lips.
"Oh yes, and I brought some nail polish so we can paint each other's nails, and a scary movie to watch! And of course some popcorn." Jenn said, taking items out of her backpack and putting them on the coffee table.
Emily leaned forward and started to look at the different colors of nail polish. There was a startling neon pink one, and Emily picked it up and examined it for a moment. "Oh yes I want this one!"
"Alright!" Jenn smiled happily. "I want this blue one, which one do you want Sarah?"
Sarah pondered over the colors. She had never had a sleepover before, and she had certainly never done girly things like paint her nails before. She picked out a rather demure looking blue color.
"Alright! I'll paint your nails first Emily." Jenn held Emily's hand gently and masterfully started painting her nails the bright happy pink.
Sarah looked on with awe at how easily she painted Emily's nails, not getting a bit of color on her skin. "You are good at that!"
"Oh well I practiced a lot on my brother, when he was going through a phase and wanted black nails all the time." Jenn giggled.
After she was done, Sarah felt like she should try out her own skills. She asked, "Can I paint your nails Jenn?"
Sarah was awful at painting Jenn's nails, she was sloppy and put the coat of polish on way too thick. Jenn giggled and told her to just take her time, and to make sure there wasn't too much polish on the brush before she started. By Jenn's second hand Sarah had gotten better, and was slightly proud of herself.
Emily's nails had dried and she took it upon herself to paint Sarah's nails. She gently took Sarah's hands and painted the so quickly that Sarah barely had time to realize what was going on. She looked down at her nails, they glittered slightly in the light. Sarah thought they looked pretty, and that she should perhaps buy some of her own nail polish to do this again.
The girls chatted amoungst themselves and Sarah and Jenn waited for the polish to dry.
"My dad's getting married." Jenn said suddenly.
"What?!" Emily and Sarah both said at the same time.
"Yup. He called me today. He's gonna marry his new girlfriend. And you know what else? She's pregnant!" Jenn looked a bit happy, but also a bit confused.
"Oh wow!" Emily exclaimed. "You are gonna be a big sister again."
"Yeah. But I dunno. I'm happy for him, but I'm just starting to get to know him again. Is he trying to replace the family he abandoned for another one?" Jenn looked down sadly.
"I don't think so." Sarah said quietly. "If he wanted to replace you, he wouldn't have tried to get back in contact with you in the first place. He wants you and your brother in his family."
Jenn smiled slightly. "You always make me feel better Sarah. I always have these doubts, but you make them go away. He told me on Thanksgiving that he always regretting leaving me and my brother. He missed out on so much of our lives. He just couldn't be with my mom anymore. He wants to do anything he can to make it up to us. I don't know what he can do, but it's felt nice to hear him say it."
"Can we meet your daddy and his girlfriend?" Emily smiled brightly for the first time all day. "When she has her baby Forrest can play with them!"
Jenn laughed a bit. "Of course you guys can. He's been saying he wants to meet my friends."
"Oh and Sarah can bring her BOYFRIEND." Emily laughed out. Jenn looked towards Sarah with shock, and Sarah felt just as shocked. She had almost forgotten the events of the night before with everything else that happened today.
"You have a boyfriend?" Jenn's eyes were wide.
"I um...errrr...you see..." Sarah couldn't find the words to say what she wanted to say. In fact she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to say in the first place.
"Aww you are so shy Sarah. You can tell us about him when you are ready." Jenn smiled. Sarah smiled back, relieved for the out. She started to feel the feelings of doubt and confusion sink back into her brain, but she shook them out. Now wasn't the time to have her own pity party, tonight she had to be there for Emily.
"Can we watch that movie now? I heard it's really good. It's about these kids and they are being stalked by something that they can't even begin to comprehend! A faceless monster that won't stop until it gets what it wants. THE TERROR! Also I think there is a doggy somewhere in there." Emily picked up the movie, and smiled. "It is probably the BEST MOVIE EVER!"
Sarah went to make popcorn as the trailers played. She put it in a big bowl so they could all share, and thought to herself that Emily would probably be eating most of it anyway. The three girls snuggled together on the couch and watched the movie. It was pretty scary, and at one point Emily jumped up and ran behind the couch to hide in her fear. Jenn had to coax her back out by offering her a candy bar. Finally the movie ended on a bit of cliffhanger with none of the questions about the monster really answered. It was past midnight by that point, so the girls decided to go to bed, since they were all working the night shift in the morning.
Jenn rolled out her sleeping bag, while Emily took the couch and Sarah got some blankets and took a recliner. The other two girls seemed to fall asleep quickly, but now in the dark and quiet, Sarah was left alone to her own thoughts again. Yesterday seemed like a dream to her now, but she still felt a strange feeling in her heart, a numb feeling of worry and fear. She was still afraid to fall asleep when all of a sudden a quiet voice popped up next to her.
"Sarah..." Emily had somehow noiselessly snuck up next to the recliner she was snuggled in. "Hey Sarah!" Emily said a bit louder now.
"Wha?" Sarah mumbled, lost in her thoughts but now coming back to reality.
"I just wanted to thank you again for today. I was lost but you made me see what a jerk Joey was being. I was afraid to leave him. Afraid to be on my own." Sarah sat up in her chair, and Emily sat down on the arm of the chair facing away from Sarah. "Now I know that I can do this on my own, I can raise Forrest on my own. Because I won't really be on my own!" Emily swivel around on the arm of the recliner to face Sarah. "I have your mom. I have Jenn. Most of all, I have you." Emily reached out and hugged Sarah. Sarah put her arms around Emily. "Sarah you are the bestest. I love you!"
"Aww, I love you too Em." Sarah smiled. Emily let go of Sarah and got back off the arm of the chair. "We should go to sleep now though, we have work in the morning." Emily quietly snuck away back to the couch.
Sarah thought for awhile about what Emily said. She too, had been afraid of being alone. Now Sarah realized she didn't have to go through her own problems alone. She had the support of her friends. Together, maybe, they could all figure out what was going on. Sarah smiled, and fell asleep, and for the first time in her life, she had no dreams.
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